We got some snow today. Not much, not even enough to cover the ground but enough to stick on the edges of sidewalks and against trees. And it was very windy, which is just the way it is most of the time up here. I liked it since I was all bundled up with my warm coat and geeky but warm hat. Not to mention my mittens with their flaps.
I went to the thrift store today looking for pajama tops. They are woefully lacking in sleepwear and since I don't want to spend $17 for a pair at StuffMart, I'll just make do with sweat pants and layers of shirts plus my fleece wrap I wear in bed while knitting. I really don't need more clothes anyway. Got no place to put them.
I've got a load of clothes on racks and hangers so it's close quarters in here. Probably will be for a week or so since I have Tom's hunting clothes to wash as well as ours. Probably three more loads at 2 days to dry...yep, six days.
I bought some more red, white and green Sugar and Cream but didn't manage to get home from the store with it. I'm so pissed about that because that's one of the main reasons I went again. I'm midway on the second dishcloth and don't have enough to finish. I fortunately have some other colors I can work on until I get back to the store, but I wanted something festive for my mother's kitchen for the holidays. Plus I want to make enough for her to give as gifts for those people who show up for Christmas unannounced.
I got 50 pounds of cat litter, too, for Tom's truck. I don't want another accident due to the truck not being heavy enough on snow. I can't believe how light the back end of that truck is. That makes about 120 pounds on the back axle so I'm hoping that's enough.
Zach has finally gotten whatever it was I had so he's not feeling very well. And I seem to be having a relapse of sorts. Coughing a lot. No headaches and it's all clear so no infection. I'm wondering if it's an allergy. We do have mold right now. I plan on getting the scrub brush and bleach water out next week to clear it all up.
My new cheap shoes were killing my feet today. It's the longest I've worn them since buying them so this was the test and they failed. I just can't wear them. I was nearly in tears by the time I got home. I'll clean them up and take them to the thrift store but I'm going to have to pony up for the good stuff. One thing I can't stand is shoes that don't fit. I lived through that too much when I was a young adult. I won't go back there. I've got old faithful on now but if it's icy out there, I'll have to figure out something else to wear tomorrow. I'm tired of falling every year. And my kneecaps are tired of it, too.
Off to finish up supper of chili, cheese and a salad tonight. It's fast food for me since I'm really tired and don't feel like putting a bigger bash together. Good thing everyone here loves chili.
TTFN
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
End of the deer hunt
Tom is home without a deer. No one in the whole camp got any and Tom didn't even see a buck, only a couple of does, which are out of bounds in that county due to low deer population. It's been years since anyone in the camp has gotten a deer; they don't even seem to see them. I asked him if it made more sense to go hunting where the deer are from now on...like here. I think he might stay home next season as he has someone to hunt with now.
At least he had some time away from work though, and he really needed that. Unfortunately in addition to the extra money for the trip and expenses, the fuel pump went out in the truck, costing about $400 to repair. I kept a straight face when he told me because it was obviously not something he could have prevented, but I kept thinking that was the same amount as the prosthesis I couldn't afford. What can you do though? It just seems like we can't catch a break though. Heck, we can't even keep treading water.
I finished up the mittens and bought some red, white and green Sugar & Cream to make my mom a Christmas dishcloth. Then I'll package everything up and send it in time for Christmas. From now on I knit out of the stash though. Can't afford to buy any more yarn for a long time.
I washed a load of clothes today but haven't gotten them on the racks yet. I bought a retractable clothesline to put in the bathroom but I'll let Tom handle that. It's a ten minute job he can do before he leaves for work tomorrow. I need it in spite of three racks and a folding wall rack under the heating vent in the kitchen, for socks and undies so they're not in the living room where anyone who comes over can see them. Drying the clothes in the dryer for a few minutes got rid of the lint on the clothes and kept them from drying solid so I'll keep up with that practice.
I should go fix supper but I'm tired and I'll just wait another half hour or so. Just got back from the store, which while nearly empty was still exhausting. Probably pizza casserole for supper. And a salad. I'm not too ambitious tonight but I must be more attentive to the food budget in the future. It's the only thing I've got that is flexible. Although keeping the thermostat down helps somewhat. I've been keeping it around 56 during the day and 48 at night. If we get too chilled, though, I will crank it up to 60. I found a pair of fleece sleeping pants for Zach (Mario themed) on the sale rack for $5.50, which was half the price of the other sleeping pants and they are nice and warm, like wearing a blanket so that should keep him toasty during the evening hours when the thermostat is down.
I keep looking for some men's pajama tops. I wear layers to bed so I can peel them off as I warm up under the covers and I like wearing pajama tops over my many layers but mine were threadbare and ended up ripping at the elbows so I threw them out. I'm going to check the thrift store tomorrow because I don't need the bottoms as I have several pairs of sweat pants I wear to bed. And we each have our own hot water bottle to put in the bed to warm it up. I've got an extra set of flannel sheets for a single bed for Tom to use but he usually toughs it out with the cotton. There is no heat upstairs aside from a oil-filled radiator that he only uses to warm up the room before bed so I can't figure out why he doesn't want flannel sheets. But he loves to sleep cold. And he's got a sleeping bag he uses for a comforter so I guess he stays pretty warm with that and the hot water bottle.
I need men's pajama tops because of my big arm from the lymphedema. Both because my arm is huge and because I wear bandages at night to push the lymph out of my arm. Takes up a lot of room and makes my arm even bigger. Women's stuff for some reason assumes our arms are tiny even when we're not.
Off to start supper now so I can crawl under the covers and knit. I spent the holiday period reading more than knitting and now I'm ready to get back to it. I'm nearly done with the afghan. Okay, I'm more than halfway done, but I'm getting there. I've got plans to make lots of little things that I might end up selling if I can find a venue. I've got some ideas for jewelry and pagan crafting stuff but I need to get busy on them.
Not to mention getting busy on doing some deep cleaning on the house. Surface cleaning is all I've gotten done lately, although I did manage to get rid of the dust elephants and we're down to dust mice now. Give it a week and the elephants will be back though.
I can hear Zach's stomach growling and since he's feeling puny (probably has that flu Tom and I had) I should probably feed him.
TTFN
At least he had some time away from work though, and he really needed that. Unfortunately in addition to the extra money for the trip and expenses, the fuel pump went out in the truck, costing about $400 to repair. I kept a straight face when he told me because it was obviously not something he could have prevented, but I kept thinking that was the same amount as the prosthesis I couldn't afford. What can you do though? It just seems like we can't catch a break though. Heck, we can't even keep treading water.
I finished up the mittens and bought some red, white and green Sugar & Cream to make my mom a Christmas dishcloth. Then I'll package everything up and send it in time for Christmas. From now on I knit out of the stash though. Can't afford to buy any more yarn for a long time.
I washed a load of clothes today but haven't gotten them on the racks yet. I bought a retractable clothesline to put in the bathroom but I'll let Tom handle that. It's a ten minute job he can do before he leaves for work tomorrow. I need it in spite of three racks and a folding wall rack under the heating vent in the kitchen, for socks and undies so they're not in the living room where anyone who comes over can see them. Drying the clothes in the dryer for a few minutes got rid of the lint on the clothes and kept them from drying solid so I'll keep up with that practice.
I should go fix supper but I'm tired and I'll just wait another half hour or so. Just got back from the store, which while nearly empty was still exhausting. Probably pizza casserole for supper. And a salad. I'm not too ambitious tonight but I must be more attentive to the food budget in the future. It's the only thing I've got that is flexible. Although keeping the thermostat down helps somewhat. I've been keeping it around 56 during the day and 48 at night. If we get too chilled, though, I will crank it up to 60. I found a pair of fleece sleeping pants for Zach (Mario themed) on the sale rack for $5.50, which was half the price of the other sleeping pants and they are nice and warm, like wearing a blanket so that should keep him toasty during the evening hours when the thermostat is down.
I keep looking for some men's pajama tops. I wear layers to bed so I can peel them off as I warm up under the covers and I like wearing pajama tops over my many layers but mine were threadbare and ended up ripping at the elbows so I threw them out. I'm going to check the thrift store tomorrow because I don't need the bottoms as I have several pairs of sweat pants I wear to bed. And we each have our own hot water bottle to put in the bed to warm it up. I've got an extra set of flannel sheets for a single bed for Tom to use but he usually toughs it out with the cotton. There is no heat upstairs aside from a oil-filled radiator that he only uses to warm up the room before bed so I can't figure out why he doesn't want flannel sheets. But he loves to sleep cold. And he's got a sleeping bag he uses for a comforter so I guess he stays pretty warm with that and the hot water bottle.
I need men's pajama tops because of my big arm from the lymphedema. Both because my arm is huge and because I wear bandages at night to push the lymph out of my arm. Takes up a lot of room and makes my arm even bigger. Women's stuff for some reason assumes our arms are tiny even when we're not.
Off to start supper now so I can crawl under the covers and knit. I spent the holiday period reading more than knitting and now I'm ready to get back to it. I'm nearly done with the afghan. Okay, I'm more than halfway done, but I'm getting there. I've got plans to make lots of little things that I might end up selling if I can find a venue. I've got some ideas for jewelry and pagan crafting stuff but I need to get busy on them.
Not to mention getting busy on doing some deep cleaning on the house. Surface cleaning is all I've gotten done lately, although I did manage to get rid of the dust elephants and we're down to dust mice now. Give it a week and the elephants will be back though.
I can hear Zach's stomach growling and since he's feeling puny (probably has that flu Tom and I had) I should probably feed him.
TTFN
Friday, November 26, 2010
The day after Thanksgiving
As it turned out, I didn't do a lot of knitting but I knocked out three Hamish Macbeth novels and started another one. It was just a day to read. Stephen called me and we talked for a bit, which was a treat. It's always great to be in touch with my firstborn. He's funny and interesting and great to be around.
I did watch Paranormal Activity (the original one) late last night. Ghost stories must be watched late at night and preferably with the lights off. It was deliciously scary and well-made and I might just watch it again before the free preview of Epix is over on Sunday. I dvr'd Iron Man and Star Trek in case I don't get around to watching them this weekend.
I'm nearly done with the mittens. Just have the flap and thumb to go and I'm almost halfway done with the scarf so I plan on getting the package out to my parents on Monday. I'm trying to figure out what little items to put in it as well. I've got an extra Farmer's Almanac I can send them. Mom gardens so she can use it.
Professor has been playing me the past few nights, wanting out three or more times a night. He sometimes wee's but mostly he just goes out to get tangled up or to bark at a night critter. I'm pretty sure my neighbors don't like being woke up to a shrill barking dog so I didn't let him out last night. I'm tired of having to race outside (I stand at the door and watch him) in my nightclothes and slippers to untangle him or shush him before he brings down the wrath of the neighbors. He apparently did okay not being allowed outside because he only used the puppy pad once. From now on, he can just hold it because I'm not going outside in freezing weather (and darned windy weather as well) just so he can bark at the rat bastard chipmunk next door.
I also plan on ignoring his barking at me to get up and pay attention to him. After just one night, he stopped doing more than his indoor bark and just hopped back up on the bed and snuggled under the covers. I mean, I am the mistress here, not the servant.
I braved the crowds and went to the store late this afternoon as I had a prescription in. It wasn't terribly crowded and the cash registers were fairly empty but the people who were there were blocking aisles by leaving their carts in the center, sometimes sideways so you couldn't get around them without moving their cart or hinting rather strongly that they should move the cart. Not to mention the family reunions that take place in the aisles. I got a pair of Danskin athletic shoes for $12 (although the gel insoles cost $7.50) that fit and feel pretty good. I have no tread left on my shoes and I'm tired of slipping and falling every winter. I got some black ones because my choices were black...and white. The men's section had some nice colors but not the women's. Hmph!
I need to take Zach to Shopko to get his because he has a pretty wide foot that not even wide sizes at StuffMart can handle. Shopko has name brand athletic shoes that come in extra wide and are usually on sale. He also has flat feet and a high instep which makes buying shoes a lengthy affair. But his shoes are also nearly treadless as he's also had his shoes for nearly 3 years.
I got Zach a pizza for supper tonight and myself pot pies because I ended up cooking yesterday after all. I won't do frozen dinners again. Not terribly satisfying or appetizing. Next year I'll get a roast as Zach really hates turkey and neither one of us likes ham much. I can stick it in the crock pot so there is little effort on my part. Still, it wasn't the all day affair most people go through. Just some hamburgers and french fries and a salad.
I have great plans on using up my stash of yarn before buying more. I'm thinking of doing smaller projects that will get done more quickly rather than having three or four long-term projects that keep getting put aside because I get bored with them. I'm not sure what to do with all the little things I make as I don't need 10 pairs of mittens or 20 scarves or a dozen hats. I can always donate them to the food pantry since I'm not going to church anymore. I do need some new socks but I don't have any Wool Ease except for some bits and bobs. I might still use them to make some socks since they'll be under jeans anyway. And where the heck to I go that someone will notice them? I just hate to buy more yarn right now.
Super Saver yarn was on sale today and I saw some colors I would love to make another afghan out of but even not on sale it's not terribly expensive so it's better to wait until I have a need for the yarn...or rather a want for it...than to stock up now. I still have so much yarn to knit up.
I'm not hungry yet so I'm going to knit on the scarf while I watch a documentary on Egyptian afterlife. I'm beginning to recognize various archaeologists, Egyptologists, historians (British, Roman and Egyptian) so it's like a little celebrity thing going on for me. Much like the popular actors in Britain that no one here knows much about (unless they're fans of British tv as well). I think in two years when our contract is up with the cable company, I'll keep the dvr and the digital channels and get rid of all the movie channels since I can get most movies from the library free, of there is hulu.com as well.
I found a major air leak around the front door but it's too cold to do anything about it besides pulling the door curtain over as far as I can but it only covers a part of the leak. When it warms up a bit, I'll put new weather stripping on. It's just too cold to leave the door open long enough to take the old off and put new on. The old is on there with screws. I've been turning the heat down to 48 at night because we're under the covers anyway and we love to sleep cool so I figured since I normally have it at 50, what is another two degrees? And daytime temps have been around 58, which so far is comfortable. If it's damp, I'll turn it up to 60 because the damp just creeps into your bones.
Off to get in my pajamas and curl up under a blanket and watch tv and knit with some crocheting later.
TTFN
I did watch Paranormal Activity (the original one) late last night. Ghost stories must be watched late at night and preferably with the lights off. It was deliciously scary and well-made and I might just watch it again before the free preview of Epix is over on Sunday. I dvr'd Iron Man and Star Trek in case I don't get around to watching them this weekend.
I'm nearly done with the mittens. Just have the flap and thumb to go and I'm almost halfway done with the scarf so I plan on getting the package out to my parents on Monday. I'm trying to figure out what little items to put in it as well. I've got an extra Farmer's Almanac I can send them. Mom gardens so she can use it.
Professor has been playing me the past few nights, wanting out three or more times a night. He sometimes wee's but mostly he just goes out to get tangled up or to bark at a night critter. I'm pretty sure my neighbors don't like being woke up to a shrill barking dog so I didn't let him out last night. I'm tired of having to race outside (I stand at the door and watch him) in my nightclothes and slippers to untangle him or shush him before he brings down the wrath of the neighbors. He apparently did okay not being allowed outside because he only used the puppy pad once. From now on, he can just hold it because I'm not going outside in freezing weather (and darned windy weather as well) just so he can bark at the rat bastard chipmunk next door.
I also plan on ignoring his barking at me to get up and pay attention to him. After just one night, he stopped doing more than his indoor bark and just hopped back up on the bed and snuggled under the covers. I mean, I am the mistress here, not the servant.
I braved the crowds and went to the store late this afternoon as I had a prescription in. It wasn't terribly crowded and the cash registers were fairly empty but the people who were there were blocking aisles by leaving their carts in the center, sometimes sideways so you couldn't get around them without moving their cart or hinting rather strongly that they should move the cart. Not to mention the family reunions that take place in the aisles. I got a pair of Danskin athletic shoes for $12 (although the gel insoles cost $7.50) that fit and feel pretty good. I have no tread left on my shoes and I'm tired of slipping and falling every winter. I got some black ones because my choices were black...and white. The men's section had some nice colors but not the women's. Hmph!
I need to take Zach to Shopko to get his because he has a pretty wide foot that not even wide sizes at StuffMart can handle. Shopko has name brand athletic shoes that come in extra wide and are usually on sale. He also has flat feet and a high instep which makes buying shoes a lengthy affair. But his shoes are also nearly treadless as he's also had his shoes for nearly 3 years.
I got Zach a pizza for supper tonight and myself pot pies because I ended up cooking yesterday after all. I won't do frozen dinners again. Not terribly satisfying or appetizing. Next year I'll get a roast as Zach really hates turkey and neither one of us likes ham much. I can stick it in the crock pot so there is little effort on my part. Still, it wasn't the all day affair most people go through. Just some hamburgers and french fries and a salad.
I have great plans on using up my stash of yarn before buying more. I'm thinking of doing smaller projects that will get done more quickly rather than having three or four long-term projects that keep getting put aside because I get bored with them. I'm not sure what to do with all the little things I make as I don't need 10 pairs of mittens or 20 scarves or a dozen hats. I can always donate them to the food pantry since I'm not going to church anymore. I do need some new socks but I don't have any Wool Ease except for some bits and bobs. I might still use them to make some socks since they'll be under jeans anyway. And where the heck to I go that someone will notice them? I just hate to buy more yarn right now.
Super Saver yarn was on sale today and I saw some colors I would love to make another afghan out of but even not on sale it's not terribly expensive so it's better to wait until I have a need for the yarn...or rather a want for it...than to stock up now. I still have so much yarn to knit up.
I'm not hungry yet so I'm going to knit on the scarf while I watch a documentary on Egyptian afterlife. I'm beginning to recognize various archaeologists, Egyptologists, historians (British, Roman and Egyptian) so it's like a little celebrity thing going on for me. Much like the popular actors in Britain that no one here knows much about (unless they're fans of British tv as well). I think in two years when our contract is up with the cable company, I'll keep the dvr and the digital channels and get rid of all the movie channels since I can get most movies from the library free, of there is hulu.com as well.
I found a major air leak around the front door but it's too cold to do anything about it besides pulling the door curtain over as far as I can but it only covers a part of the leak. When it warms up a bit, I'll put new weather stripping on. It's just too cold to leave the door open long enough to take the old off and put new on. The old is on there with screws. I've been turning the heat down to 48 at night because we're under the covers anyway and we love to sleep cool so I figured since I normally have it at 50, what is another two degrees? And daytime temps have been around 58, which so far is comfortable. If it's damp, I'll turn it up to 60 because the damp just creeps into your bones.
Off to get in my pajamas and curl up under a blanket and watch tv and knit with some crocheting later.
TTFN
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
I won't be posting tomorrow because it is my truly vacation day of the whole year. I don't cook or clean or do laundry. I eat and eat and knit and watch movies or marathons. But I don't work.
So today I've been busy cleaning and mopping and finishing up the plastic on the windows. I'm glad to be done except for supper and the clean up from that. I talked to my parents today because they have a houseful on the big day and you can't talk to anyone because while you're on the phone with them, they're actually listening to someone else talk, not you. I got tired of being treated like that and just quit calling on the day. I talk to my parents before when it's nice and quiet and there is no competition.
We had some snowflakes today but it didn't last long and didn't stick. It's raining now, however, and I have no idea what will happen when the temperature goes below freezing. Aside from letting Professor out for a wee, I won't be out in it but I do hope people who are take care. They're usually pretty good about driving in inclement weather around here. You have the occasional idiot but most people are careful and take their time.
I'm off to finish up supper and relax until Friday when I plan on attacking the house systematically and doing some deeper cleaning. I'm not going to try to do it all at once, though, but will muddle through the whole winter. In the spring I plan on doing some painting in the kitchen and bathroom. Some day I'll get to the rest of the house but those rooms need it most.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
TTFN
So today I've been busy cleaning and mopping and finishing up the plastic on the windows. I'm glad to be done except for supper and the clean up from that. I talked to my parents today because they have a houseful on the big day and you can't talk to anyone because while you're on the phone with them, they're actually listening to someone else talk, not you. I got tired of being treated like that and just quit calling on the day. I talk to my parents before when it's nice and quiet and there is no competition.
We had some snowflakes today but it didn't last long and didn't stick. It's raining now, however, and I have no idea what will happen when the temperature goes below freezing. Aside from letting Professor out for a wee, I won't be out in it but I do hope people who are take care. They're usually pretty good about driving in inclement weather around here. You have the occasional idiot but most people are careful and take their time.
I'm off to finish up supper and relax until Friday when I plan on attacking the house systematically and doing some deeper cleaning. I'm not going to try to do it all at once, though, but will muddle through the whole winter. In the spring I plan on doing some painting in the kitchen and bathroom. Some day I'll get to the rest of the house but those rooms need it most.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
TTFN
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Settling in for the holiday weekend
Just got back from shopping, Pizza Hut and the library where I accidentally knocked a book behind the bookshelves, where they will have to take out the entire bottom shelf to get to it. I am so graceful.
Pizza Hut was okay. I'm not a huge fan of pizza these days but this was Zach's T-day feast so we went where he wanted to go. Someday we'll go where I want to. I only ate one piece so we had plenty to bring home and it was a lot cheaper than Applebee's. I'm ready to snuggle in until Sunday at least. No place to go for a few days.
Although I need to start walking Professor and myself. I got him a coat today because, being half Chihuahua, he tends to get cold out there. His mother was a Pomeranian but he's short-haired, even if he is nearly as big as she is. So for walkies he'll wear the coat. For his daily business, he can go without since it's only for a few minutes.
I got lots of veggies to snack on because I'm getting sick of snacks. Plus after T-day I want to knuckle down and get busy about improving my health. I want more out of life than my tired old body is letting me do.
I'm ready to crawl under the covers for now, though, with my new knit sheets that feel as good as flannel. They were so comfy last night and I was warm enough I kicked off one of the blankets. I should be toasty this winter.
I bought another bird feeder because the wind keeps knocking the top off the gazebo-type I've got out there so the bird seed spills out onto the ground. I got another shelter house-type like the one I already had. We just have too much wind here to keep using the other one.
It doesn't look like we'll be getting snow this week, which is okay with me for now. I do want a white Christmas but I'll settle for a green Boxing Day...not that it works that way.
Off to knit and crochet and hopefully an early night tonight because I have to clean house tomorrow. I haven't gotten anything done all week. I didn't even get any laundry done today because I couldn't bear going outdoors to hang out clothes in 27 degree weather. With a wind chill of 20F. Like I said...we get lots of wind here.
I'll just use the racks after I get the house cleaned up and maybe after I get in better shape and can handle the cold better, I'll hang more clothes outdoors. For now, I'm making do with what I've got at hand. And what my body can tolerate. I told Zach though that we need to get outdoors every day so the house will feel warmer to us. If we vegetate indoors all winter, it will feel cold all the time. If we get really cold, then the house will feel pretty warm most of the time.
Off to crawl into bed for now. I'll deal with the house tomorrow.
TTFN
Pizza Hut was okay. I'm not a huge fan of pizza these days but this was Zach's T-day feast so we went where he wanted to go. Someday we'll go where I want to. I only ate one piece so we had plenty to bring home and it was a lot cheaper than Applebee's. I'm ready to snuggle in until Sunday at least. No place to go for a few days.
Although I need to start walking Professor and myself. I got him a coat today because, being half Chihuahua, he tends to get cold out there. His mother was a Pomeranian but he's short-haired, even if he is nearly as big as she is. So for walkies he'll wear the coat. For his daily business, he can go without since it's only for a few minutes.
I got lots of veggies to snack on because I'm getting sick of snacks. Plus after T-day I want to knuckle down and get busy about improving my health. I want more out of life than my tired old body is letting me do.
I'm ready to crawl under the covers for now, though, with my new knit sheets that feel as good as flannel. They were so comfy last night and I was warm enough I kicked off one of the blankets. I should be toasty this winter.
I bought another bird feeder because the wind keeps knocking the top off the gazebo-type I've got out there so the bird seed spills out onto the ground. I got another shelter house-type like the one I already had. We just have too much wind here to keep using the other one.
It doesn't look like we'll be getting snow this week, which is okay with me for now. I do want a white Christmas but I'll settle for a green Boxing Day...not that it works that way.
Off to knit and crochet and hopefully an early night tonight because I have to clean house tomorrow. I haven't gotten anything done all week. I didn't even get any laundry done today because I couldn't bear going outdoors to hang out clothes in 27 degree weather. With a wind chill of 20F. Like I said...we get lots of wind here.
I'll just use the racks after I get the house cleaned up and maybe after I get in better shape and can handle the cold better, I'll hang more clothes outdoors. For now, I'm making do with what I've got at hand. And what my body can tolerate. I told Zach though that we need to get outdoors every day so the house will feel warmer to us. If we vegetate indoors all winter, it will feel cold all the time. If we get really cold, then the house will feel pretty warm most of the time.
Off to crawl into bed for now. I'll deal with the house tomorrow.
TTFN
Monday, November 22, 2010
Feeling much better now
My head is clear once again and the headache is gone but experience has taught me to keep up the regimen of nasal spray, echinacea and nose-blowing for a bit longer so I don't have a relapse. But it's good not to feel so crummy anymore.
Aside from lack of sleep, that is. I had one last night (I hope) of coughing that woke me up. Not a lot of it but what was there woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep until about 7:30 a.m. I slept until about 10:30 and then got up for the day but I've been dragging around and took an hour nap around 3 p.m. Woke up to a heavy rain and thunder but I'd love to go back to sleep.
So I'm cooking supper so I can get to bed early tonight. I need to be up early tomorrow morning to get a load of clothes out on the line as it looks like the only good day for a week or so. I'll wash a load tonight so I can hang them out first thing. It will be pretty cold tomorrow...in the 30s...but I'll hang them out until the sun sets, then bring them in and whatever didn't dry can go on hangars and racks.
I'm almost done with one mitten/flap and am still plugging away on the afghan. I'm in a mood to continue crocheting them so I'm going to tackle a baby afghan next since I have so much baby sport yarn I can use. That way I can use up my stash and still enjoy crocheting afghans. I'll find an interesting pattern to work with.
I didn't get any cleaning done today due to lack of energy but I hope to get the house cleaned up so I can enjoy Thanksgiving Day in a clean house. I also would like to start walking Professor daily since he's gotten pudgy over the past winter and never lost it this past summer. I can sure use the exercise myself. I do want to incorporate some walking alone time though as I need that isolation and interaction with Nature to restore my soul on a daily basis. Or near daily basis as the weather here can get brutal in the winter. Just thankful I don't have to drive to Fond du Lac like I have the past several years. I'm really enjoying staying home.
I have to take some stuff back to the library tomorrow so Zach and I are going to Pizza Hut tomorrow instead of Wednesday. I have some bills to pay as well and he needs to make a payment on his student loan so he has to transfer some money. Get it all done in one trip so I don't have to go back this weekend or on Black Friday. I do not shop on that day at all. I don't think we'll be exchanging gifts this Christmas anyway, aside from a gift for Zach. Just can't afford it.
I'm going to make some crackers out of empty toilet paper rolls since we used the last of them last Christmas. I can make some hats to put in there and buy some notions or something that will fit in them. Something useful, like travel sized hand lotion or trinkets that we might actually use. Then wrap them up in Christmas paper. They won't pop when we open them, but it will be okay.
I'm not putting the tree up early this year. I get sick of it if I've got it up too early but I will change my altar over to Yule after the first of December. I'm more excited about that than Christmas anyway. So is Zach.
I have a lot on the dvr to watch although some things I'm just deleting without watching. At the time they seemed like a good idea but when it came to sitting down to watch them, it just bored me. I started on the first season of Farscape, too. I had already watched an episode of it when I got out an old tape of the mini-series, The Shining (truer to the book than the Kubrick disaster), and there were commercials for Farscape on it. I love watching old tapes so I can see the old commercials.
I saw Alice in Wonderland finally and loved it. Is there anything Johnny Depp can't do? Looking forward to Harry Potter but we'll wait for the crowds to thin out a bit. I can't enjoy a movie in a crowded theater. Actually Zach and I have had a few private viewings before because we only go to matinees (cheaper) and only after the movie has been out a while. I doubt we'll be the only ones in the theater with Harry Potter though because we're not waiting too long to see it this time.
And Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be out soon enough, too. We only go once or twice a year to the movies since we get free movies on television and the library. And when this two years is up, I think I'll drop the movie channels and keep the digital channels because I'm watching mostly documentaries anyway. And I can get most any movie from the library free of charge. If I'm willing to wait long enough.
But I won't give up the dvr unless I have to for financial reason. I love it because the vcr doesn't work really well anymore and you can't watch and tape at the same time. Not to mention the dvr recording series for me instead of me having to program it.
Well, supper is starting to smell done: chicken nuggets and french fries with sweet and sour sauce dipping. Trying to find ways to eat out without going out the door. I'm much more of a homebody in the winter.
TTFN
Aside from lack of sleep, that is. I had one last night (I hope) of coughing that woke me up. Not a lot of it but what was there woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep until about 7:30 a.m. I slept until about 10:30 and then got up for the day but I've been dragging around and took an hour nap around 3 p.m. Woke up to a heavy rain and thunder but I'd love to go back to sleep.
So I'm cooking supper so I can get to bed early tonight. I need to be up early tomorrow morning to get a load of clothes out on the line as it looks like the only good day for a week or so. I'll wash a load tonight so I can hang them out first thing. It will be pretty cold tomorrow...in the 30s...but I'll hang them out until the sun sets, then bring them in and whatever didn't dry can go on hangars and racks.
I'm almost done with one mitten/flap and am still plugging away on the afghan. I'm in a mood to continue crocheting them so I'm going to tackle a baby afghan next since I have so much baby sport yarn I can use. That way I can use up my stash and still enjoy crocheting afghans. I'll find an interesting pattern to work with.
I didn't get any cleaning done today due to lack of energy but I hope to get the house cleaned up so I can enjoy Thanksgiving Day in a clean house. I also would like to start walking Professor daily since he's gotten pudgy over the past winter and never lost it this past summer. I can sure use the exercise myself. I do want to incorporate some walking alone time though as I need that isolation and interaction with Nature to restore my soul on a daily basis. Or near daily basis as the weather here can get brutal in the winter. Just thankful I don't have to drive to Fond du Lac like I have the past several years. I'm really enjoying staying home.
I have to take some stuff back to the library tomorrow so Zach and I are going to Pizza Hut tomorrow instead of Wednesday. I have some bills to pay as well and he needs to make a payment on his student loan so he has to transfer some money. Get it all done in one trip so I don't have to go back this weekend or on Black Friday. I do not shop on that day at all. I don't think we'll be exchanging gifts this Christmas anyway, aside from a gift for Zach. Just can't afford it.
I'm going to make some crackers out of empty toilet paper rolls since we used the last of them last Christmas. I can make some hats to put in there and buy some notions or something that will fit in them. Something useful, like travel sized hand lotion or trinkets that we might actually use. Then wrap them up in Christmas paper. They won't pop when we open them, but it will be okay.
I'm not putting the tree up early this year. I get sick of it if I've got it up too early but I will change my altar over to Yule after the first of December. I'm more excited about that than Christmas anyway. So is Zach.
I have a lot on the dvr to watch although some things I'm just deleting without watching. At the time they seemed like a good idea but when it came to sitting down to watch them, it just bored me. I started on the first season of Farscape, too. I had already watched an episode of it when I got out an old tape of the mini-series, The Shining (truer to the book than the Kubrick disaster), and there were commercials for Farscape on it. I love watching old tapes so I can see the old commercials.
I saw Alice in Wonderland finally and loved it. Is there anything Johnny Depp can't do? Looking forward to Harry Potter but we'll wait for the crowds to thin out a bit. I can't enjoy a movie in a crowded theater. Actually Zach and I have had a few private viewings before because we only go to matinees (cheaper) and only after the movie has been out a while. I doubt we'll be the only ones in the theater with Harry Potter though because we're not waiting too long to see it this time.
And Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be out soon enough, too. We only go once or twice a year to the movies since we get free movies on television and the library. And when this two years is up, I think I'll drop the movie channels and keep the digital channels because I'm watching mostly documentaries anyway. And I can get most any movie from the library free of charge. If I'm willing to wait long enough.
But I won't give up the dvr unless I have to for financial reason. I love it because the vcr doesn't work really well anymore and you can't watch and tape at the same time. Not to mention the dvr recording series for me instead of me having to program it.
Well, supper is starting to smell done: chicken nuggets and french fries with sweet and sour sauce dipping. Trying to find ways to eat out without going out the door. I'm much more of a homebody in the winter.
TTFN
Sunday, November 21, 2010
No countdown this year
I'm just not up to it. Maybe next year I'll do a deer widow countdown again but I'm tired and cranky and still not feeling up to par.
I may have actually reached the pinnacle of this danged flu or whatever. It's developed into a sinus infection at this stage so I'm still coughing and have a headache on one side (where the infection is) but I'm taking whatever is necessary to get rid of it.
I managed to get some plastic up on the bathroom window amidst some very bad language due to the tape not sticking after I attached the plastic to it and then getting all tangled up in plastic and tape. I finally took a scrubbie from the kitchen and "sanded" down the paint a bit and the next time it stuck. I've gotten the worst windows covered now and will try to tackle one window a day until I've got them all.
Beyond that I haven't managed to get much done in the way of cleaning. I got my room a bit straightened up and moved the bed away from the wall and window so I can set out a humane mouse trap sometime after this week. I'm not focusing too well just yet so I don't want to forget the poor thing and leave him to starve in the trap. They've got them at StuffMart for under $5, which surprised me. (To avoid getting hits from people who are looking to put the hate on a certain superstore, I've changed the name to protect my blood pressure.)
I managed to trash my flannel sheets over the summer. They fell off the chair I had them stacked on and got wet and the mildew ate through them so I ended up buying some knit sheets for $20 today. I can use these year-round, but it gets mighty cold at night here and those cool, crisp cotton sheets won't do. I got bright red because it was better than black or white...the only other colors available for a full sized bed.
Zach has been working steadily today doing his chores, which let me off the hook for a day or two. Tomorrow I need to get busy on the kitchen and living room though. I don't rest easily if the house is cluttered. The kitchen floor badly needs mopping and since Tom isn't here to spill kool aid on it as soon as I'm done, I think I'll be able to enjoy it beyond one day.
I'm making progress on my mom's new mittens/flaps. I'm going to frog the hat I made myself because it doesn't fit well and looks terrible on me. I'll dig through my patterns to find something that doesn't have ribbing. Any hat that has ribbing just rides up my head and slides off. Apparently my head is shaped wrong for hats or something. I'm also working on a ripple afghan and am more than halfway done on it. I got more yarn today that should be enough to finish it up. I hope so anyway. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but I'll probably just put it up in a plastic bag and save it in case I need a gift.
I also started my mom's scarf...just a 2X2 ribbed scarf of 32 stitches. I've got one and love it because it's double the weight and reversible and tends to stay in place better than a wider one.
I've been watching documentaries and Doctor Who all weekend, getting lots of knitting done. I also managed to dry a load on the clothesline yesterday. I brought it in as the sun was setting because I didn't figure it would dry anymore during the night and rain was predicted for later today. It was a good thing I did as it rained before I got up and has been misty all day. Only a few things were a bit damp and I hung them on hangars under the heating vent in the kitchen and they dried quite soon.
I just got back from the store stocking up on munchies and quick meals to fix while Tom is gone. It's as close as I get to a vacation so I'm taking advantage of it. But this year we won't eat out as much. Zach wants pizza from Pizza Hut so we'll grab one to take home, saving on the sodas that cost at least $2 or so apiece.
Well, I'm coughing again and starting to feel crummy so I'm off to bed for more crocheting or knitting and maybe an early night. Okay, probably not an early night. I tried that last night and woke up coughing after about 20 minutes and was up until the wee hours after that. I'll just stay awake until I fall asleep from sheer fatigue.
TTFN
I may have actually reached the pinnacle of this danged flu or whatever. It's developed into a sinus infection at this stage so I'm still coughing and have a headache on one side (where the infection is) but I'm taking whatever is necessary to get rid of it.
I managed to get some plastic up on the bathroom window amidst some very bad language due to the tape not sticking after I attached the plastic to it and then getting all tangled up in plastic and tape. I finally took a scrubbie from the kitchen and "sanded" down the paint a bit and the next time it stuck. I've gotten the worst windows covered now and will try to tackle one window a day until I've got them all.
Beyond that I haven't managed to get much done in the way of cleaning. I got my room a bit straightened up and moved the bed away from the wall and window so I can set out a humane mouse trap sometime after this week. I'm not focusing too well just yet so I don't want to forget the poor thing and leave him to starve in the trap. They've got them at StuffMart for under $5, which surprised me. (To avoid getting hits from people who are looking to put the hate on a certain superstore, I've changed the name to protect my blood pressure.)
I managed to trash my flannel sheets over the summer. They fell off the chair I had them stacked on and got wet and the mildew ate through them so I ended up buying some knit sheets for $20 today. I can use these year-round, but it gets mighty cold at night here and those cool, crisp cotton sheets won't do. I got bright red because it was better than black or white...the only other colors available for a full sized bed.
Zach has been working steadily today doing his chores, which let me off the hook for a day or two. Tomorrow I need to get busy on the kitchen and living room though. I don't rest easily if the house is cluttered. The kitchen floor badly needs mopping and since Tom isn't here to spill kool aid on it as soon as I'm done, I think I'll be able to enjoy it beyond one day.
I'm making progress on my mom's new mittens/flaps. I'm going to frog the hat I made myself because it doesn't fit well and looks terrible on me. I'll dig through my patterns to find something that doesn't have ribbing. Any hat that has ribbing just rides up my head and slides off. Apparently my head is shaped wrong for hats or something. I'm also working on a ripple afghan and am more than halfway done on it. I got more yarn today that should be enough to finish it up. I hope so anyway. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but I'll probably just put it up in a plastic bag and save it in case I need a gift.
I also started my mom's scarf...just a 2X2 ribbed scarf of 32 stitches. I've got one and love it because it's double the weight and reversible and tends to stay in place better than a wider one.
I've been watching documentaries and Doctor Who all weekend, getting lots of knitting done. I also managed to dry a load on the clothesline yesterday. I brought it in as the sun was setting because I didn't figure it would dry anymore during the night and rain was predicted for later today. It was a good thing I did as it rained before I got up and has been misty all day. Only a few things were a bit damp and I hung them on hangars under the heating vent in the kitchen and they dried quite soon.
I just got back from the store stocking up on munchies and quick meals to fix while Tom is gone. It's as close as I get to a vacation so I'm taking advantage of it. But this year we won't eat out as much. Zach wants pizza from Pizza Hut so we'll grab one to take home, saving on the sodas that cost at least $2 or so apiece.
Well, I'm coughing again and starting to feel crummy so I'm off to bed for more crocheting or knitting and maybe an early night. Okay, probably not an early night. I tried that last night and woke up coughing after about 20 minutes and was up until the wee hours after that. I'll just stay awake until I fall asleep from sheer fatigue.
TTFN
Friday, November 19, 2010
So glad I got that flu shot
I may survive this yet. I'm still waking up to cough a lot but I'm feeling a bit more aware and awake. Tom just left for deer hunting but since the season doesn't start until tomorrow morning, the deer widow posts won't start until then either. Today I'm just going to lie around and knit. I have hot dogs for supper but I'm still not back to normal (what's that???) so I don't feel like doing a lot of cooking. I have great plans to do a lot of cleaning while he's gone but that may be a case of overestimating my stamina. We'll see.
Off to nap for a while and then watch a ton of stuff on the dvr before it gets filled up and get some knitting done. I ended up giving Tom my mother's mittens/flaps and scarf to give to his brother's wife for letting them have deer camp at their cabin this year. I couldn't find anything at the store that didn't look last minute or obviously from StuffMart. So now I have more mittens and a scarf to knit for my mom. In deep red this time.
I'm also crocheting a ripple afghan because I had a craving for one. I used to crochet afghans all the time. In fact, I've got some here that have survived intact for over 22 years. And they still look in pretty good shape in spite of frequent usage. Red Heart supersaver. Which is what I'm using now. I'm using up the yarn I bought to make hats and scarves. I'll need more, for sure, but getting a couple of skeins a week won't break me.
Although we are close to being in dire straits from the hunting trip and a few unexpected expenses. We're going to have to hunker down into tightwad extreme in order to pay the first installment on the property taxes.
On the bright side, Matt Smith (Doctor Who #11) is growing on me. I'm enjoying him as the eleventh Doctor.
TTFN
Off to nap for a while and then watch a ton of stuff on the dvr before it gets filled up and get some knitting done. I ended up giving Tom my mother's mittens/flaps and scarf to give to his brother's wife for letting them have deer camp at their cabin this year. I couldn't find anything at the store that didn't look last minute or obviously from StuffMart. So now I have more mittens and a scarf to knit for my mom. In deep red this time.
I'm also crocheting a ripple afghan because I had a craving for one. I used to crochet afghans all the time. In fact, I've got some here that have survived intact for over 22 years. And they still look in pretty good shape in spite of frequent usage. Red Heart supersaver. Which is what I'm using now. I'm using up the yarn I bought to make hats and scarves. I'll need more, for sure, but getting a couple of skeins a week won't break me.
Although we are close to being in dire straits from the hunting trip and a few unexpected expenses. We're going to have to hunker down into tightwad extreme in order to pay the first installment on the property taxes.
On the bright side, Matt Smith (Doctor Who #11) is growing on me. I'm enjoying him as the eleventh Doctor.
TTFN
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Cough, hack, sneeze
Yes, it is the flu after all. I'm so glad I paid good money for a flu vaccine so I wouldn't have to endure this. I know part of the problem is having a compromised immune system that I fully intend to work on as soon as I get some sleep and start hacking all over the place. Which I hope is very soon.
I got some knitting and crocheting done yesterday in addition to some sleeping. Not much sleeping last night due to the above coughing, hacking and sneezing and only one tiny nap today. I'm sure by tomorrow my ribs will be sore from all this coughing but tonight I'm still using those chest muscles quite often.
I'll try to be more interesting tomorrow but if you don't hear from me, I'm still in bed coughing, hacking and sneezing.
TTFN
I got some knitting and crocheting done yesterday in addition to some sleeping. Not much sleeping last night due to the above coughing, hacking and sneezing and only one tiny nap today. I'm sure by tomorrow my ribs will be sore from all this coughing but tonight I'm still using those chest muscles quite often.
I'll try to be more interesting tomorrow but if you don't hear from me, I'm still in bed coughing, hacking and sneezing.
TTFN
Monday, November 15, 2010
And it wasn't the flu
It's just a cold and I'm on the upswing now, feeling much better in spite of my stopped up head and some coughing. I felt like crap this morning so I went back to bed and slept until noon and felt much better for the extra sleep. Tom is feeling better, too.
I managed to get a load of clothes washed but it started raining so I didn't put the clothes out overnight. I'll hang them out tomorrow morning. I also worked in the kitchen but I'll mop the floor tomorrow. I'm trying not to overdo it today. I also did some more winterizing...plastic on windows and some better curtains hung over the entrance to the foyer. But after supper, I'm crashing because I don't want a relapse.
I'm working on the rasta hat from Knitty Gritty and will work on my poncho/tabard as well tonight. And maybe the sweater. I should spin but I think I'll do that tomorrow. It involves me sitting up and as I'm still feeling a bit puny, I'd rather recline while knitting.
Supper is almost done so I'm off to eat and then crawl into bed. Hopefully I'll get an early night tonight and some refreshing sleep as well. My plans are to finish up the plastic on the windows and get some laundry done. I might have to make a trip to the library as I've got a dvd in. I'm nearly out of wet cat food but I'm not sure if I trust myself to stop off at the store. I'll see how I feel tomorrow.
TTFN
I managed to get a load of clothes washed but it started raining so I didn't put the clothes out overnight. I'll hang them out tomorrow morning. I also worked in the kitchen but I'll mop the floor tomorrow. I'm trying not to overdo it today. I also did some more winterizing...plastic on windows and some better curtains hung over the entrance to the foyer. But after supper, I'm crashing because I don't want a relapse.
I'm working on the rasta hat from Knitty Gritty and will work on my poncho/tabard as well tonight. And maybe the sweater. I should spin but I think I'll do that tomorrow. It involves me sitting up and as I'm still feeling a bit puny, I'd rather recline while knitting.
Supper is almost done so I'm off to eat and then crawl into bed. Hopefully I'll get an early night tonight and some refreshing sleep as well. My plans are to finish up the plastic on the windows and get some laundry done. I might have to make a trip to the library as I've got a dvd in. I'm nearly out of wet cat food but I'm not sure if I trust myself to stop off at the store. I'll see how I feel tomorrow.
TTFN
Sunday, November 14, 2010
So it wasn't the little blue pill after all
Apparently it wasn't the little blue sleeping pill that made me feel so cruddy yesterday. It was the flu! So much for the flu shot I got a couple of weeks ago. I had felt "flu-ish" but because I had had the shot I didn't think it was the flu but just a reaction to the OTC sleeping pill I took. I ended up dozing off and on last night until about 5 a.m. when I finally got into a deep sleep that lasted for an hour and a half before Professor tried to wake me up. I ignored him and he crept back into bed under the covers where he lasted until 8 a.m. Tom tried to take him out but he wouldn't go. He waited until I got up at 10 a.m. Then I went back to bed for another couple of hours.
I spent a lot of time last night clearing my throat due to a tickle that finally became a cough about 3 a.m. and I've been coughing ever since.
So I ended up going to the store after all because Tom has been sick for a few days but hasn't mentioned it to me, trying to tough it out. He didn't have anything for a cold so I just went ahead and did the shopping, including the stuff he's going to take with him hunting, because I hadn't realized that he leaves this coming Friday for that. I shouldn't have to go back at all until next Sunday now. I made sure to get a lot of staples for cooking. I can bake my own bread though as I didn't have enough room in the freezer for more bread.
I didn't do a lot of knitting yesterday because I felt so crummy. Any naps I took made me feel worse but the sleep I got between 5 and 12 seemed to do the trick and I've managed to stay awake the rest of the day.
I finished up Zach's hat a few minutes ago while watching one of the 20 episodes of Doctor Who I've got dvr'd. I managed to watch The Lovely Bones last night, without knitting or anything. I really liked it but I want to read the book, too, which is always out at the library. I should put a hold on it so I can finally read it. Or get the audio version. It's in. I'm going to start the afghan again. I didn't like the red background with the green Green Man so I'm going with a green background and a red Silvanus instead. But my size 8 needles were too big for the yarn and I just found my size 6 circulars so I can start it. I should finish up my mittens tonight as well. Then I've got to plan a hat to go along with them. Or a scarf. I only have enough yarn for one choice. I'm thinking a rasta hat. There's a pattern on the Knitty Gritty site for one.
I have plenty of yarn to make some scarves but they won't match my mittens but that's okay. I wear scarves around the house a lot while I'm puttering around cleaning. If my neck is warm and I'm layered, I'm in good shape and can keep the thermostat down. I've got it on today because of Tom and me feeling puny. So far Zach is okay, thankfully.
I'm making chili tonight for supper. It's wet and cold and rainy and windy out and I can't think of a better day for it.
Off to finish reading the paper online so I can go back to bed. I'm really enjoying not spending time online. Getting tons of reading and other stuff done.
TTFN
I spent a lot of time last night clearing my throat due to a tickle that finally became a cough about 3 a.m. and I've been coughing ever since.
So I ended up going to the store after all because Tom has been sick for a few days but hasn't mentioned it to me, trying to tough it out. He didn't have anything for a cold so I just went ahead and did the shopping, including the stuff he's going to take with him hunting, because I hadn't realized that he leaves this coming Friday for that. I shouldn't have to go back at all until next Sunday now. I made sure to get a lot of staples for cooking. I can bake my own bread though as I didn't have enough room in the freezer for more bread.
I didn't do a lot of knitting yesterday because I felt so crummy. Any naps I took made me feel worse but the sleep I got between 5 and 12 seemed to do the trick and I've managed to stay awake the rest of the day.
I finished up Zach's hat a few minutes ago while watching one of the 20 episodes of Doctor Who I've got dvr'd. I managed to watch The Lovely Bones last night, without knitting or anything. I really liked it but I want to read the book, too, which is always out at the library. I should put a hold on it so I can finally read it. Or get the audio version. It's in. I'm going to start the afghan again. I didn't like the red background with the green Green Man so I'm going with a green background and a red Silvanus instead. But my size 8 needles were too big for the yarn and I just found my size 6 circulars so I can start it. I should finish up my mittens tonight as well. Then I've got to plan a hat to go along with them. Or a scarf. I only have enough yarn for one choice. I'm thinking a rasta hat. There's a pattern on the Knitty Gritty site for one.
I have plenty of yarn to make some scarves but they won't match my mittens but that's okay. I wear scarves around the house a lot while I'm puttering around cleaning. If my neck is warm and I'm layered, I'm in good shape and can keep the thermostat down. I've got it on today because of Tom and me feeling puny. So far Zach is okay, thankfully.
I'm making chili tonight for supper. It's wet and cold and rainy and windy out and I can't think of a better day for it.
Off to finish reading the paper online so I can go back to bed. I'm really enjoying not spending time online. Getting tons of reading and other stuff done.
TTFN
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Swearing off the little blue pill
No more OTC sleeping pills for me. I couldn't wake up today and slept away most of the day. And I don't feel refreshed at all. More like I'm coming off a flu or something. And my fibromyalgia pain is bad today.
I did manage to clean up the back hallway and wash the rugs, which are drying on racks in the basement as it's raining outside. I also got plastic on the back door but that was about all I could handle today. I'll be surprised if I sleep at all tonight because I'm just now waking up.
Tom, of course, had to work again today. He's been working 6 days a week for months now at the same cutback salary. He's so tired on Sundays he sleeps most of the day but he is going to try to change the oil in the vehicles tomorrow.
I forgot to get a bunch of stuff at the store that would work to make up some inexpensive meals this week but I'm not going back until next Thursday because the insurance is due the end of this month and Tom will be taking some cash up with him for deer hunting so the only thing I have that I can cut is the food budget. We won't starve or anything like that. I do have a lot of food stocked up but I just don't have spaghetti or tomato sauce. I thought I had some already so I didn't get more. There are other meals I can fix in the meantime.
I finally finished up the LOTR watching for the year so now I'm going to watch Farscape with all its behind-the-scenes stuff and commentaries. I'm making progress on Zach's hat after some trial and error and am on the homestretch with the last mitten. I should pull up some of the other projects and get back on them as well, especially the sweater and poncho/tabard. Those I could be wearing sometime soon because the weather is cooling off again. Still don't need the heat but in a short time, I'm sure we will.
I managed to watch an Inspector Morse I hadn't seen before. I knew there were some at the beginning I'd missed and the library didn't have them, so it was great to see a new one. I still miss John Thaw but I'm glad we have his work to still watch.
I also have a ton of Doctor Who episodes on dvr that I should start on this weekend. I need to get back to spinning so that would be a good match. Spinning and Doctor Who.
I didn't get up with Professor at all last night and I heard Tom trying to get him to go out this morning but he wouldn't go out until I got up to let him out. But I didn't get up until I was ready to. I've no idea why he does that but frequently he'll bark at me to let him out (in his indoor bark) but won't let Tom or Zach let him out. Instead he hops up on the bed and sits on top of me as if he's expecting me to protect him.
I'm finishing up The Shining, too. I haven't read it in a while and I think it's one of Stephen King's best so I grabbed it off my bookcase when I didn't have any library books to read. After this, it will be a Hamish Macbeth season. I love the books, in fact, more than the television show. But I do like the tv show as well. Who wouldn't like Robert Carlyle?
Well, supper is ready. My old standby of fast food: homemade macaroni and cheese. I just cook up some macaroni to al dente, layer in macaroni and cheese (with butter) in a 9 X 9 inch pan with a hefty layer of cheese on top, add milk and cook it in the oven until the top is crusty. We love it.
Hope tonight is better than the past few nights but it will take a while to re-train Professor that I'm not his personal assistant and at his beck and call.
TTFN
I did manage to clean up the back hallway and wash the rugs, which are drying on racks in the basement as it's raining outside. I also got plastic on the back door but that was about all I could handle today. I'll be surprised if I sleep at all tonight because I'm just now waking up.
Tom, of course, had to work again today. He's been working 6 days a week for months now at the same cutback salary. He's so tired on Sundays he sleeps most of the day but he is going to try to change the oil in the vehicles tomorrow.
I forgot to get a bunch of stuff at the store that would work to make up some inexpensive meals this week but I'm not going back until next Thursday because the insurance is due the end of this month and Tom will be taking some cash up with him for deer hunting so the only thing I have that I can cut is the food budget. We won't starve or anything like that. I do have a lot of food stocked up but I just don't have spaghetti or tomato sauce. I thought I had some already so I didn't get more. There are other meals I can fix in the meantime.
I finally finished up the LOTR watching for the year so now I'm going to watch Farscape with all its behind-the-scenes stuff and commentaries. I'm making progress on Zach's hat after some trial and error and am on the homestretch with the last mitten. I should pull up some of the other projects and get back on them as well, especially the sweater and poncho/tabard. Those I could be wearing sometime soon because the weather is cooling off again. Still don't need the heat but in a short time, I'm sure we will.
I managed to watch an Inspector Morse I hadn't seen before. I knew there were some at the beginning I'd missed and the library didn't have them, so it was great to see a new one. I still miss John Thaw but I'm glad we have his work to still watch.
I also have a ton of Doctor Who episodes on dvr that I should start on this weekend. I need to get back to spinning so that would be a good match. Spinning and Doctor Who.
I didn't get up with Professor at all last night and I heard Tom trying to get him to go out this morning but he wouldn't go out until I got up to let him out. But I didn't get up until I was ready to. I've no idea why he does that but frequently he'll bark at me to let him out (in his indoor bark) but won't let Tom or Zach let him out. Instead he hops up on the bed and sits on top of me as if he's expecting me to protect him.
I'm finishing up The Shining, too. I haven't read it in a while and I think it's one of Stephen King's best so I grabbed it off my bookcase when I didn't have any library books to read. After this, it will be a Hamish Macbeth season. I love the books, in fact, more than the television show. But I do like the tv show as well. Who wouldn't like Robert Carlyle?
Well, supper is ready. My old standby of fast food: homemade macaroni and cheese. I just cook up some macaroni to al dente, layer in macaroni and cheese (with butter) in a 9 X 9 inch pan with a hefty layer of cheese on top, add milk and cook it in the oven until the top is crusty. We love it.
Hope tonight is better than the past few nights but it will take a while to re-train Professor that I'm not his personal assistant and at his beck and call.
TTFN
Friday, November 12, 2010
Enough is enough
Drat! Another all-nighter which left me dragging all day. I think I will pop one of the over the counter sleeping pills tonight to see if I can get back on track with sleeping. I have a lot of work to do and it's not getting done, not to mention there is much I could be doing in the way of frugality that unfortunately takes energy I don't have.
Something has to change because I just can't keep doing this. I love my dog but he's not letting me sleep again. Aside from locking him in the bathroom, which isn't an option, I don't know how to change this. He's been waking me up two to three times a night to go stand on the porch and just look around. He's not wee-ing out there. Just observing. If I don't get up he barks at me. I think I'll just put the pillow over my head and ignore him tonight. I have to change his habits once and for all.
I did get some knitting done in between naps today. Mostly on the remaining mitten. I'll probably work on Zach's hat tonight as a change. And maybe the poncho/tabard thing. I'm going to finish it.
Very soon I need to wash the rugs from the back hallway and get back to winterizing the house. It's not too bad so if I don't get the plastic up the next day or so we'll still be fine. I don't anticipate using the furnace for a while. We did need it for a couple of days but the weather is still warm enough we don't need it now. Maybe I'll make it to Thanksgiving before we need it again.
Off to find my little blue pills and read for a bit before watching some dvr stuff and then an early night if the pills work soon enough.
TTFN
Something has to change because I just can't keep doing this. I love my dog but he's not letting me sleep again. Aside from locking him in the bathroom, which isn't an option, I don't know how to change this. He's been waking me up two to three times a night to go stand on the porch and just look around. He's not wee-ing out there. Just observing. If I don't get up he barks at me. I think I'll just put the pillow over my head and ignore him tonight. I have to change his habits once and for all.
I did get some knitting done in between naps today. Mostly on the remaining mitten. I'll probably work on Zach's hat tonight as a change. And maybe the poncho/tabard thing. I'm going to finish it.
Very soon I need to wash the rugs from the back hallway and get back to winterizing the house. It's not too bad so if I don't get the plastic up the next day or so we'll still be fine. I don't anticipate using the furnace for a while. We did need it for a couple of days but the weather is still warm enough we don't need it now. Maybe I'll make it to Thanksgiving before we need it again.
Off to find my little blue pills and read for a bit before watching some dvr stuff and then an early night if the pills work soon enough.
TTFN
Thursday, November 11, 2010
After the sleepathon
I'm feeling a bit more rested which should be the case since I've slept so much the past couple of days. I just couldn't stay awake much. I went to bed at about 6:30 last night, slept for a couple of hours, was up for a couple and then back to sleep for most of the night. With the exceptions of getting up to let Professor out for a wee. Three times.
There is so much I need to do here but I really thought it was just best to stop feeling guilty over it and obey my body's requests and just rest. I'm starting to feel a bit better so I hope to get much done in the next few days.
I've decided to go ahead and put the plastic on the windows because it will bother me all winter that I haven't done all I can. But in light of the spring weather we've been having it's just as well I haven't done that yet as we've had to open up some of the windows. So starting tomorrow...plastic.
Also I need desperately to dust and vacuum. We have dust elephants here. And they're not months' old. They're just in the past week. I have no idea why we get so much dust here. Unless it's the prairie wind we get all the time.
I'm also nearly done with the mittens. I've started a hat for Zach. Just one for indoors so I'm trying to figure out a decorative, but manly, design. We've both got really good hats for outdoors. Not flattering, but warm. We also need new shoes or we're going to be falling on our behinds first snow. Neither of us has any tread on our athletic shoes anymore.
And my dvd player quit reading dvds the night before last. I tried a dozen different dvds (considering it had worked just fine the night before) and finally put them in the dvd player in the living room where they worked just fine. So I trudged upstairs to get Tom's dvd player, which he never uses, and lo! and behold, it wouldn't read either. And it's under a year old. Both of them Magnovox. Zach googled and saw that Magnovox has a lousy rating and bad reviews because of the same problems. So I got a Sony dvd player last night. Not an expensive one though. I hated spending the money on it but I have dvds at the library that I had to pick up and wouldn't be able to watch. I did try to put the Emerson dvd player from the living room in my room but we no longer have the original remote for it and for some reason it wouldn't load up without me using the menu. And the universal remote didn't have all the correct buttons to disengage the menu.
So I'm considering this my Christmas/Yule present for the year.
I saw a show on loom knitting today that made me want to buy one but I couldn't justify it. What I did consider, though, was making one of my own, especially as I could use pegs the size I wanted. The looms at StuffMart were for bulky knitting and I don't have any bulky yarn. Well, not much anyway. I have one skein I've hung onto for about 5 years. I might use it to knit a pair of slippers for someone.
I dug through my wips and decided I like the poncho anyway. Especially as I'm nearly done with the back. I saw a poncho/wrap on Knitting Daily that I liked and thought I could make modifications to my poncho that were similar and make it more a tunic rather than a poncho. Which I do like the idea of very much.
My houndstooth sweater seemed to look at me pleadingly when I got it out so I might need to start working on my old projects as well as the new ones. I can rotate them so I don't get bored with them. There are just too many patterns out there.
Supper is on the stove so I'm off to finish it up. Then I'm crawling into bed to finish up my commentary on LOTR and watch the stuff on dvr. Tom sat down with me yesterday morning and watched Mysteries of the Museum from the Travel Channel. He liked it. Tonight I'm dvr-ing a hunting show for him on PBS that is about the new rules and herd activity in Wisconsin. I seriously thought about getting a dvd-r instead of just a dvd player but they still cost a bit too much so that will have to wait until we are better off financially. Ha! Like that's ever going to happen.
One must remain positive though. I must believe we won't always be in dire straits like this for the rest of our lives.
Off to finish cooking and then dig into the pile of Hamish Macbeth books I got from the library today. I'm really enjoying not being online much. Except I do miss the social interaction. I do still have friends I'm in contact with but I don't spend any significant time on message boards anymore. I'm hoping my blood pressure will go down as a result.
TTFN
There is so much I need to do here but I really thought it was just best to stop feeling guilty over it and obey my body's requests and just rest. I'm starting to feel a bit better so I hope to get much done in the next few days.
I've decided to go ahead and put the plastic on the windows because it will bother me all winter that I haven't done all I can. But in light of the spring weather we've been having it's just as well I haven't done that yet as we've had to open up some of the windows. So starting tomorrow...plastic.
Also I need desperately to dust and vacuum. We have dust elephants here. And they're not months' old. They're just in the past week. I have no idea why we get so much dust here. Unless it's the prairie wind we get all the time.
I'm also nearly done with the mittens. I've started a hat for Zach. Just one for indoors so I'm trying to figure out a decorative, but manly, design. We've both got really good hats for outdoors. Not flattering, but warm. We also need new shoes or we're going to be falling on our behinds first snow. Neither of us has any tread on our athletic shoes anymore.
And my dvd player quit reading dvds the night before last. I tried a dozen different dvds (considering it had worked just fine the night before) and finally put them in the dvd player in the living room where they worked just fine. So I trudged upstairs to get Tom's dvd player, which he never uses, and lo! and behold, it wouldn't read either. And it's under a year old. Both of them Magnovox. Zach googled and saw that Magnovox has a lousy rating and bad reviews because of the same problems. So I got a Sony dvd player last night. Not an expensive one though. I hated spending the money on it but I have dvds at the library that I had to pick up and wouldn't be able to watch. I did try to put the Emerson dvd player from the living room in my room but we no longer have the original remote for it and for some reason it wouldn't load up without me using the menu. And the universal remote didn't have all the correct buttons to disengage the menu.
So I'm considering this my Christmas/Yule present for the year.
I saw a show on loom knitting today that made me want to buy one but I couldn't justify it. What I did consider, though, was making one of my own, especially as I could use pegs the size I wanted. The looms at StuffMart were for bulky knitting and I don't have any bulky yarn. Well, not much anyway. I have one skein I've hung onto for about 5 years. I might use it to knit a pair of slippers for someone.
I dug through my wips and decided I like the poncho anyway. Especially as I'm nearly done with the back. I saw a poncho/wrap on Knitting Daily that I liked and thought I could make modifications to my poncho that were similar and make it more a tunic rather than a poncho. Which I do like the idea of very much.
My houndstooth sweater seemed to look at me pleadingly when I got it out so I might need to start working on my old projects as well as the new ones. I can rotate them so I don't get bored with them. There are just too many patterns out there.
Supper is on the stove so I'm off to finish it up. Then I'm crawling into bed to finish up my commentary on LOTR and watch the stuff on dvr. Tom sat down with me yesterday morning and watched Mysteries of the Museum from the Travel Channel. He liked it. Tonight I'm dvr-ing a hunting show for him on PBS that is about the new rules and herd activity in Wisconsin. I seriously thought about getting a dvd-r instead of just a dvd player but they still cost a bit too much so that will have to wait until we are better off financially. Ha! Like that's ever going to happen.
One must remain positive though. I must believe we won't always be in dire straits like this for the rest of our lives.
Off to finish cooking and then dig into the pile of Hamish Macbeth books I got from the library today. I'm really enjoying not being online much. Except I do miss the social interaction. I do still have friends I'm in contact with but I don't spend any significant time on message boards anymore. I'm hoping my blood pressure will go down as a result.
TTFN
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
She keeps knitting even if she gets nothing else done.
I did remember to go online yesterday but I couldn't think of a thing to say beyond, "I'm tired," and "I hurt." I'm getting tired of writing it so I can guess you get tired of reading it.
I've finished up 4 sets of mittens and have finally started mine. I also started a blanket in spite of saying I didn't need another one because need has nothing to do with it. I just want to knit one. I'm using a graph of the Green Man as the center and plan on using Yggdrasil Afghan for the rest of it. I'm using red background with green (duh!) for the Green Man. It doesn't show up as well as it would if I had the colors reversed but I think in the long run, this is what I want. I could be wrong.
I haven't done any spinning lately. The kick spindle sits on the piano and tries to snag me as I walk past it to walk into my bedroom. So far I've avoided its grasp but tonight I need to pay attention to it. I'm making good progress. I should be done with my pound of Welsh Top by January. Then I'll learn dyeing. I plan on dyeing before plying because I think it will make a more interesting yarn. I'm also going with kool-aid dyeing as I don't want to start with any harsh chemicals just yet. In time I'll get there, but not yet.
I also need to get back to my other projects before I forget them and have to frog the whole thing. I've totally lost interest in the poncho though. I doubt I would ever wear is so I might go ahead and frog it. I have enough to turn it into a long sweater, which I would wear. Or a cape. We'll see. For now I'm focusing on what I already have going.
I have some clothes on the line and more in the basement. I should get out and swap them as the ones on the line are dry now. Still dealing with the debilitating fatigue though. I am not getting much of anything done at all. Zach is going to fix supper tonight.
I have to run to the library Thursday. I tried to renew A Touch of Frost but someone has it on hold so I must do a marathon to finish it up After that I've only got one episode of Doctor Who on the list. It's the second part to The End of Time where the Doctor regenerates to Matt Smith. Then I can start watching the new season. Which they rerun on BBCA.
I have tons of documentaries on dvr because I'm trying to restart my brain. I'm also studying some spiritual things and some things about nature. I think my brain is starting to retain a bit of what I'm reading and my concentration is getting better. My mind didn't bounce back from chemo very quickly.
Off to finish up the laundry and then on to bed. I love it that it's getting dark by 4:30 p.m. these days.
TTFN
I've finished up 4 sets of mittens and have finally started mine. I also started a blanket in spite of saying I didn't need another one because need has nothing to do with it. I just want to knit one. I'm using a graph of the Green Man as the center and plan on using Yggdrasil Afghan for the rest of it. I'm using red background with green (duh!) for the Green Man. It doesn't show up as well as it would if I had the colors reversed but I think in the long run, this is what I want. I could be wrong.
I haven't done any spinning lately. The kick spindle sits on the piano and tries to snag me as I walk past it to walk into my bedroom. So far I've avoided its grasp but tonight I need to pay attention to it. I'm making good progress. I should be done with my pound of Welsh Top by January. Then I'll learn dyeing. I plan on dyeing before plying because I think it will make a more interesting yarn. I'm also going with kool-aid dyeing as I don't want to start with any harsh chemicals just yet. In time I'll get there, but not yet.
I also need to get back to my other projects before I forget them and have to frog the whole thing. I've totally lost interest in the poncho though. I doubt I would ever wear is so I might go ahead and frog it. I have enough to turn it into a long sweater, which I would wear. Or a cape. We'll see. For now I'm focusing on what I already have going.
I have some clothes on the line and more in the basement. I should get out and swap them as the ones on the line are dry now. Still dealing with the debilitating fatigue though. I am not getting much of anything done at all. Zach is going to fix supper tonight.
I have to run to the library Thursday. I tried to renew A Touch of Frost but someone has it on hold so I must do a marathon to finish it up After that I've only got one episode of Doctor Who on the list. It's the second part to The End of Time where the Doctor regenerates to Matt Smith. Then I can start watching the new season. Which they rerun on BBCA.
I have tons of documentaries on dvr because I'm trying to restart my brain. I'm also studying some spiritual things and some things about nature. I think my brain is starting to retain a bit of what I'm reading and my concentration is getting better. My mind didn't bounce back from chemo very quickly.
Off to finish up the laundry and then on to bed. I love it that it's getting dark by 4:30 p.m. these days.
TTFN
Sunday, November 7, 2010
How did I do that?
I can't believe I didn't go online yesterday. In fact, I didn't even think of it until the wee hours of this morning. I had a spectacular day of laundry, winterizing and knitting and crocheting. I made another snake for the windows but I'm thinking of putting plastic on anyway. I keep thinking of the daylight hours with the windows leaking heat like a sieve. Even with the snakes.
Professor went awol yesterday. I swear he put his cloak of invisibility on when I went to let him out the back door because I never saw him. Next thing I knew he was panting his "kill chipmunk" pant in the neighbor's garage. Fortunately he came when I called him. Normally he will just stand at the door waiting for the click of the leash on his collar. Who knows what called him out and made him go against his training?
Now that it's winter we are having a battle of will over shutting the front inside door when the dog is out front. Someone maintains it's just for a couple of minutes while I maintain in those couple of minutes we're losing a lot of heat which, like, costs money. I suspect we will have this battle all winter. We always do. I have been known to go down to the basement in the middle of winter and find someone has opened up the basement windows because it's stuffy down there. For someone who complains about not having enough money, someone is sure cavalier about making sure we're not throwing money in the trash. 'Nuff said.
I put suet out yesterday. I think it's cold enough the birds need it now. I found it in a case of ten at much cheaper than by the brick. I haven't seen them use it yet but some of it is missing.
I hung out two loads of clothes yesterday that dried beautifully in the brisk wind. But I'm not going to hang out the white clothes anymore because of the time it consumes and the number of little items and the need to have underwear that doesn't feel like cardboard. It does help to heat up the house so I'm not feeling too frivolous. At least not today. The colored clothes will definitely go out on the line or the racks though. Every little bit, you know.
I got some sleep two nights in a row but this morning I woke up (due to the front door not being shut when Professor went out) early and couldn't get back to sleep. Fuming doesn't help one relax enough to sleep, you know. I'm not feeling energetic today like I did yesterday so I'm convinced sleep is the key to getting control of my fatigue. Now how to manage to get sleep. That's the biggest problem.
As much as I hate to go to the store again today, I'm going anyway. Mostly because I need to be alone for a while. But also because I have run out of gel pens, which I use to write in my journals and such. I've always been a bit picky about the pens I use to write with. They must be dark black, medium point and thick to hold. When gel pens came out I thought I was in heaven because they are perfect for my needs. I used to be so bad about writing that I would tear a paper out of my notebook if I made a single mistake on it. And do it over until I had it perfect. Now I scratch mistakes out and just go on. Frugality has a lot to do with that.
I also want to look around for something to hold my mother's Christmas scarf closed. I didn't make it long enough to wrap around her neck because they really don't warm you up much that way. Just something around the neck under the coat. But I'd like something like a shawl pin only smaller to close it so it doesn't flop open. I might look in the hair accessory section. Or the craft section.
And of course, more plastic for the windows. I hate the process but I'll rest better knowing I've done all I can to keep the heat in and the cold out.
Off to eat some breakfast before I go.
TTFN
Professor went awol yesterday. I swear he put his cloak of invisibility on when I went to let him out the back door because I never saw him. Next thing I knew he was panting his "kill chipmunk" pant in the neighbor's garage. Fortunately he came when I called him. Normally he will just stand at the door waiting for the click of the leash on his collar. Who knows what called him out and made him go against his training?
Now that it's winter we are having a battle of will over shutting the front inside door when the dog is out front. Someone maintains it's just for a couple of minutes while I maintain in those couple of minutes we're losing a lot of heat which, like, costs money. I suspect we will have this battle all winter. We always do. I have been known to go down to the basement in the middle of winter and find someone has opened up the basement windows because it's stuffy down there. For someone who complains about not having enough money, someone is sure cavalier about making sure we're not throwing money in the trash. 'Nuff said.
I put suet out yesterday. I think it's cold enough the birds need it now. I found it in a case of ten at much cheaper than by the brick. I haven't seen them use it yet but some of it is missing.
I hung out two loads of clothes yesterday that dried beautifully in the brisk wind. But I'm not going to hang out the white clothes anymore because of the time it consumes and the number of little items and the need to have underwear that doesn't feel like cardboard. It does help to heat up the house so I'm not feeling too frivolous. At least not today. The colored clothes will definitely go out on the line or the racks though. Every little bit, you know.
I got some sleep two nights in a row but this morning I woke up (due to the front door not being shut when Professor went out) early and couldn't get back to sleep. Fuming doesn't help one relax enough to sleep, you know. I'm not feeling energetic today like I did yesterday so I'm convinced sleep is the key to getting control of my fatigue. Now how to manage to get sleep. That's the biggest problem.
As much as I hate to go to the store again today, I'm going anyway. Mostly because I need to be alone for a while. But also because I have run out of gel pens, which I use to write in my journals and such. I've always been a bit picky about the pens I use to write with. They must be dark black, medium point and thick to hold. When gel pens came out I thought I was in heaven because they are perfect for my needs. I used to be so bad about writing that I would tear a paper out of my notebook if I made a single mistake on it. And do it over until I had it perfect. Now I scratch mistakes out and just go on. Frugality has a lot to do with that.
I also want to look around for something to hold my mother's Christmas scarf closed. I didn't make it long enough to wrap around her neck because they really don't warm you up much that way. Just something around the neck under the coat. But I'd like something like a shawl pin only smaller to close it so it doesn't flop open. I might look in the hair accessory section. Or the craft section.
And of course, more plastic for the windows. I hate the process but I'll rest better knowing I've done all I can to keep the heat in and the cold out.
Off to eat some breakfast before I go.
TTFN
Friday, November 5, 2010
Useless me
I talked to a cashier at StuffMart today who also has fibromyalgia and has just taken two months off from work because of the pain and fatigue. She's thinking of trying to get disability since work is torture for her. It made me feel a bit better about not functioning much to know that others suffer like I do. Not that I like it that they're suffering, but it's nice not to feel all alone. There are many of us who can't hold down a job and yet can't get disability (in my case because I haven't worked in 22 years) and who are made to feel like we're just lazy. If we would just take the advice of those who are remarkably healthy, our lives would be not only back to normal, but better than we could ever imagine. I have some sisters-in-law who whisper behind another sil's back that she "loves" her pain meds too much. I say if you've never experienced chronic pain that saps your energy and leaves you an outcast of society because you can't participate, then shut your frelling mouth because you don't have a clue.
Yes, I'm snarky today and for no good reason. Except I'm tired of not getting anything done. I did get sleep the past couple of nights but I'm not getting anything done except for some knitting and napping. I feel useless.
I still have winterizing to do and need to wash and hang out a load of clothes but I am seriously drained of energy and don't know how to fix it. And no, don't tell me any of Dr. Oz's surefire cures for fatigue. I'm not interested in fad science.
Tonight's supper will be soup and sandwiches because I just can't get up the energy to fix anything more complicated. I'm ready for bed and as soon as I finish up supper, that's where I'm going. I'm hoping this is just a flare-up and not the measure of my life from now on.
In the meantime I'll avoid my in-laws and family members who think if I would just follow their advice, I'd been bouncing off the walls with so much energy. All I want to do is stay in bed for a week. What little I do manage to accomplish wears me out as if I had been out digging ditches.
TTFN
Yes, I'm snarky today and for no good reason. Except I'm tired of not getting anything done. I did get sleep the past couple of nights but I'm not getting anything done except for some knitting and napping. I feel useless.
I still have winterizing to do and need to wash and hang out a load of clothes but I am seriously drained of energy and don't know how to fix it. And no, don't tell me any of Dr. Oz's surefire cures for fatigue. I'm not interested in fad science.
Tonight's supper will be soup and sandwiches because I just can't get up the energy to fix anything more complicated. I'm ready for bed and as soon as I finish up supper, that's where I'm going. I'm hoping this is just a flare-up and not the measure of my life from now on.
In the meantime I'll avoid my in-laws and family members who think if I would just follow their advice, I'd been bouncing off the walls with so much energy. All I want to do is stay in bed for a week. What little I do manage to accomplish wears me out as if I had been out digging ditches.
TTFN
Thursday, November 4, 2010
A restful day
I'm feeling a bit better today. I got 8 hours of sleep last night and a 2 hour nap today. But I'm still very much lethargic and not getting much done. I have managed some knitting and some reading but no housework. It's raining out right now and supposed to turn to snow later so I'm glad I got the curtains up at least. Tomorrow I'll worry about tacking the curtains on the sides so the cold doesn't escape into the house through that.
Tom is planning on caulking the windows Sunday as he has to work on Saturday again.
I resisted going to the store today and hope to resist going tomorrow. I'm trying not to go just because it's my "day" to go. We're not in need just now so any trip would be out of habit rather than need. I have some bad habits to change if we're going to make it this winter.
Got the gas and electric bill today. It's under $80, which is great. And the temperature in the house today was in the low 60s, amazingly so the curtains must be doing something good. I've got some of my snakes up in the windows I normally put plastic on. I just need to crochet some more now. In addition to my frantic knitting on Christmas presents.
I've got tons of things on dvr to watch and some dvds from the library to get through this weekend so I should get a lot of knitting and crocheting done. Now that I can tape things again, I've been watching a lot of the History Channel and National Geographic. I'm an ancient history buff so I love anything on that subject. I've seen a few shows on Egypt this week and have more to go. Plus Ancients Behaving Badly. I like that one, too.
Not to mention all the other stuff I watch, like knitting and crafting shows and paranormal stuff. I really haven't had a lot of time for movies of late although I fell asleep watching District 9 last night and woke up to it as well. Odd how that turned out.
I talked to my mother last night and she's 21 years older than me and I'm not 58. I lose track of those things. She's doing well, cozying up for winter herself. I learned a lot from her about these things.
Since I did a lot of nothing today I've got much of nothing to report so I'm off to finish up supper and then back to bed. I plan on crashing early again tonight. I know you can't catch up on sleep but you can increase your energy levels when you get 8 hours consistently so I'm hoping I'll eventually get there.
TTFN
Tom is planning on caulking the windows Sunday as he has to work on Saturday again.
I resisted going to the store today and hope to resist going tomorrow. I'm trying not to go just because it's my "day" to go. We're not in need just now so any trip would be out of habit rather than need. I have some bad habits to change if we're going to make it this winter.
Got the gas and electric bill today. It's under $80, which is great. And the temperature in the house today was in the low 60s, amazingly so the curtains must be doing something good. I've got some of my snakes up in the windows I normally put plastic on. I just need to crochet some more now. In addition to my frantic knitting on Christmas presents.
I've got tons of things on dvr to watch and some dvds from the library to get through this weekend so I should get a lot of knitting and crocheting done. Now that I can tape things again, I've been watching a lot of the History Channel and National Geographic. I'm an ancient history buff so I love anything on that subject. I've seen a few shows on Egypt this week and have more to go. Plus Ancients Behaving Badly. I like that one, too.
Not to mention all the other stuff I watch, like knitting and crafting shows and paranormal stuff. I really haven't had a lot of time for movies of late although I fell asleep watching District 9 last night and woke up to it as well. Odd how that turned out.
I talked to my mother last night and she's 21 years older than me and I'm not 58. I lose track of those things. She's doing well, cozying up for winter herself. I learned a lot from her about these things.
Since I did a lot of nothing today I've got much of nothing to report so I'm off to finish up supper and then back to bed. I plan on crashing early again tonight. I know you can't catch up on sleep but you can increase your energy levels when you get 8 hours consistently so I'm hoping I'll eventually get there.
TTFN
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
People like to kick you when you're down
Last night had potential to be a night of good sleep had it not been for an encounter with a relative who decided I needed to know what was wrong with me for my own good. Needless to say in these encounters, if you don't bow to their uber-knowledge of you, then you're just being stubborn and that's the reason why everyone in the family has these conferences about you anytime they get together...like weddings or family dinners. Where they all sit around and decide how dysfunctional you've been all your life and how frustrated they are because you won't take their excellent advice that would fix you right up. I love the line that they criticize you because they love you.
Needless to say I was up until dawn and managed to get about 4 hours of sleep before I got up for good. I dropped off for a short nap when I was trying to get some reading done but it wasn't that short and now it's past time to fix supper. I had shoved the laundry in the dryer because I was just too tired to hang them out and of course they didn't dry. Because nothing has changed since the last time I tried to dry them in the dryer.
I just know I can't keep going at this pace. I put curtains up instead of plastic because I just don't have the energy to struggle with getting the plastic up on the windows but I'm not sure how well this will work because in the daylight hours, I need the windows open and thus the curtains don't do me a bit of good so it looks like I'll have to put plastic up anyway. Only I just can't face it right now because I'm barely functioning.
I don't have the energy to throw supper together but we can't afford to eat out anymore. I've managed to put off starting the furnace so far and we've done just fine but it won't be long before I won't have that option anymore. I brought in the lawn furniture today when I went out to untangle Professor in the back yard. I fed the birds while I was out there but that's all the energy I've got.
I'm going to break down and take an over-the-counter sleeping pill tonight, which means I'll be dragging again tomorrow but at least I'll have some sleep under my belt. In fact, I'm tempted to tell Zach to fix supper on his own and go to bed now. Except I'll need to eat something, too or I'll wake up in the middle of the night hungry.
I finished up one mitten for my dad last night and began another one. But I haven't knit anything today and probably won't. I tried to call my mother a few times today to wish her Happy Birthday but she's not been home all day. I'm a bit concerned, especially as no one bothers to tell me if something's wrong until after the fact, but I'm guessing she's just been out for her birthday. I think she's 78 today. Or might be 79, She's 20 years older than me but her birthday is after mine so she might have been 20 years older than me on my birthday but when she had hers not long after mine, became 21 years older than me. I think she's 79 because I think my sister said my dad was 80 now. I can't keep track of how old I am, let alone how old anyone else is.
Off to fix supper and hoping another round in the dryer will dry the clothes. After this, though, I'll make sure I get the clothes out on the line on the day I wash them.
TTFN
Needless to say I was up until dawn and managed to get about 4 hours of sleep before I got up for good. I dropped off for a short nap when I was trying to get some reading done but it wasn't that short and now it's past time to fix supper. I had shoved the laundry in the dryer because I was just too tired to hang them out and of course they didn't dry. Because nothing has changed since the last time I tried to dry them in the dryer.
I just know I can't keep going at this pace. I put curtains up instead of plastic because I just don't have the energy to struggle with getting the plastic up on the windows but I'm not sure how well this will work because in the daylight hours, I need the windows open and thus the curtains don't do me a bit of good so it looks like I'll have to put plastic up anyway. Only I just can't face it right now because I'm barely functioning.
I don't have the energy to throw supper together but we can't afford to eat out anymore. I've managed to put off starting the furnace so far and we've done just fine but it won't be long before I won't have that option anymore. I brought in the lawn furniture today when I went out to untangle Professor in the back yard. I fed the birds while I was out there but that's all the energy I've got.
I'm going to break down and take an over-the-counter sleeping pill tonight, which means I'll be dragging again tomorrow but at least I'll have some sleep under my belt. In fact, I'm tempted to tell Zach to fix supper on his own and go to bed now. Except I'll need to eat something, too or I'll wake up in the middle of the night hungry.
I finished up one mitten for my dad last night and began another one. But I haven't knit anything today and probably won't. I tried to call my mother a few times today to wish her Happy Birthday but she's not been home all day. I'm a bit concerned, especially as no one bothers to tell me if something's wrong until after the fact, but I'm guessing she's just been out for her birthday. I think she's 78 today. Or might be 79, She's 20 years older than me but her birthday is after mine so she might have been 20 years older than me on my birthday but when she had hers not long after mine, became 21 years older than me. I think she's 79 because I think my sister said my dad was 80 now. I can't keep track of how old I am, let alone how old anyone else is.
Off to fix supper and hoping another round in the dryer will dry the clothes. After this, though, I'll make sure I get the clothes out on the line on the day I wash them.
TTFN
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
I can't keep functioning on a sleep deficit
If you want me to vote for you, don't call me every frelling morning at 9 a.m. waking me up after a few hours of sleep. Maybe now that the election is almost over I can finally get some sleep. I hate those automatic calls and they're never from the party I support, only the other party trying to tell me how idiotic my political beliefs are. Not the way to get my support.
I'm running again on about 4-5 hours of sleep a night and I'm beyond cranky. I'm so tired I'm not sure I can get the clothes on the line. I might give the dryer one more try. I'm washing smaller loads since I do tend to overload the washer a bit. I just know I can't get out there to hang them out and it's going to be much colder tomorrow.
I haven't put any plastic on the windows and I'm probably not going to do it this year. I bought some of the cheap insulated curtains at StuffMart in hopes they will do the job. I hate plastic on the windows because I can't use the blinds or shades then. And they don't work that well unless you put it on the inside and outside of the windows. I've woken up every morning in the winter with frost on the plastic, which tells me it's not effective. And I know I'm doing it right. So between the blinds and the curtains, I'm going to see if this does the trick. Heaven knows by January the plastic has been punched or poked and the tape is coming off anyway.
Snow is predicted for Thursday. Sort of. It's a slight chance. I'm not looking forward to it as I haven't got the furnace ready yet. I need to replace the filter first.
The yarn I wanted to use for my dad's mittens is finally in but I'm almost done with one mitten in the other color. I was tempted to get it because it looks so interesting to work with but I resisted and got some extra blue for Zach's mittens to go with his dragon scarf. I have been knitting steadily trying to get them done so I can get them in the mail before the weather turns too bad down in Indiana. I'm almost done with my mother's scarf. Just a few more inches. Then I'll start Daddy's scarf and when that's done the pressure will be off. Then I can work on mine and Zach's in addition to my other projects.
Now that I've got the winterizing bought, we've got to go in tightwad lockdown. It's going to be another rough winter financially even being frugal. Tom has deer hunting season ahead and that's a significant amount of money that will be spent. I'm going to forgo Christmas for me, maybe get Zach something small but we just have to bite the bullet from now on.
I need to get the curtains up before I lose the daylight and supper needs to be started soon so I'm off to try to work past this debilitating fatigue.
TTFN
I'm running again on about 4-5 hours of sleep a night and I'm beyond cranky. I'm so tired I'm not sure I can get the clothes on the line. I might give the dryer one more try. I'm washing smaller loads since I do tend to overload the washer a bit. I just know I can't get out there to hang them out and it's going to be much colder tomorrow.
I haven't put any plastic on the windows and I'm probably not going to do it this year. I bought some of the cheap insulated curtains at StuffMart in hopes they will do the job. I hate plastic on the windows because I can't use the blinds or shades then. And they don't work that well unless you put it on the inside and outside of the windows. I've woken up every morning in the winter with frost on the plastic, which tells me it's not effective. And I know I'm doing it right. So between the blinds and the curtains, I'm going to see if this does the trick. Heaven knows by January the plastic has been punched or poked and the tape is coming off anyway.
Snow is predicted for Thursday. Sort of. It's a slight chance. I'm not looking forward to it as I haven't got the furnace ready yet. I need to replace the filter first.
The yarn I wanted to use for my dad's mittens is finally in but I'm almost done with one mitten in the other color. I was tempted to get it because it looks so interesting to work with but I resisted and got some extra blue for Zach's mittens to go with his dragon scarf. I have been knitting steadily trying to get them done so I can get them in the mail before the weather turns too bad down in Indiana. I'm almost done with my mother's scarf. Just a few more inches. Then I'll start Daddy's scarf and when that's done the pressure will be off. Then I can work on mine and Zach's in addition to my other projects.
Now that I've got the winterizing bought, we've got to go in tightwad lockdown. It's going to be another rough winter financially even being frugal. Tom has deer hunting season ahead and that's a significant amount of money that will be spent. I'm going to forgo Christmas for me, maybe get Zach something small but we just have to bite the bullet from now on.
I need to get the curtains up before I lose the daylight and supper needs to be started soon so I'm off to try to work past this debilitating fatigue.
TTFN
Monday, November 1, 2010
Monday comes...and goes
It definitely is colder these days. The thermostat has been hovering around 58F during the day. Nights don't matter much since we're bundled nicely under covers and prefer sleeping cold. I probably won't make it to Thanksgiving before turning on the furnace but I'll give it my best shot and get as close as I can. I feel that I can turn it on anytime after November first but I'd like to postpone it as long as possible. It's bearable now with long sleeves and layering clothes. Plus having throws to sit under when you're just sitting.
I am back to mostly no sleep. Professor's bladder must have shriveled up with the cold because he's waking me up two to three times a night to go out for a wee or other, but he's still using the potty papers as well. I'm not getting anywhere close to 8 hours so my 5 hours or so is interrupted. I'm dragging again. Who knew how difficult it was to get those 8 hours of sleep?
Plus I had two political calls before 10 a.m. I will be glad when tomorrow is over. I plan on walking to City Hall tomorrow to get some exercise in. And mailing Tana's package that is long overdue. The post office is right next door to City Hall. It won't take long to pop in there before voting.
I didn't celebrate Samhain last night. I don't know what it was but I ended up completely drained of all energy and just couldn't function. That happened last holiday, too. I should look into barriers because I don't like something out there stealing what little energy I've got.
My birds are back at the feeders. I love watching them frolic and chase each other but they will be eating me out of house and home before long. I have some sunflower heads I plan on putting out the first snow. I also have some decorative corn I'll put out tonight when we celebrate Samhain...albeit a brief ritual. I still have no energy. I plan on a smaller ritual indoors to compensate. And I have my electric candle in the window to light the way for the ancestors until Yule.
I also still need to put plastic on the windows before I dare turn on the furnace. I only have three windows to cover although I have some outdoor plastic I could use on some other windows. I might have to use that upstairs as the tape doesn't stick on those windows because it gets too cold. Nailing the plastic on with cardboard strips might work better. I also need to tack down the curtain on the back entryway. It doesn't stay shut on both sides because of the layout. I only need to tack down one side. The other will stay in place, but that back isn't insulated at all and we saved a lot of energy by using a thermal curtain last winter. It will also help if I don't use that back door, too. It actually would be easier to take the clothes out the front door and around the house than trying to squeeze past the narrow hallway that is halfway tacked down.
And speaking of clothes. I need to wash a few loads tomorrow before it rains again. I'm pretty content not using the dryer anymore. Worse case scenario, I can use it but it will take twice as long and I can use it to get rid of the lint on the winter things. That was my biggest problem last winter. I don't even need the heat to accomplish this. It just takes longer for the clothes to dry as we don't keep the house very warm. About 60F last winter and we were fine. I also use a potpourri pot with just water and a tea candle that helps bring humidity into the atmosphere. It lasts about 6 hours for one tea candle and one pot of water. Plus I like candles lit during the day. It just makes the ambience nicer.
I finished up my mom's mittens and started on my dads but this particular yarn, although supposedly the same weight, is much thicker and will make the mittens way too big. So I bought some more yarn today but got the same kind I made Tom's out of so I don't need as much. I really am set and won't buy anymore yarn for a long time now. I'm not promising, but I will try to use up what I've got. I'm really at the point we have to tighten our belts if we're going to afford heat.
Off to crawl into bed and knit. Zach is making supper tonight because I need a break. He's pretty good at it but still needs the practice. And I have a ton of stuff on the dvr and from the library to watch. Not to mention all the books I picked up today.
TTFN
I am back to mostly no sleep. Professor's bladder must have shriveled up with the cold because he's waking me up two to three times a night to go out for a wee or other, but he's still using the potty papers as well. I'm not getting anywhere close to 8 hours so my 5 hours or so is interrupted. I'm dragging again. Who knew how difficult it was to get those 8 hours of sleep?
Plus I had two political calls before 10 a.m. I will be glad when tomorrow is over. I plan on walking to City Hall tomorrow to get some exercise in. And mailing Tana's package that is long overdue. The post office is right next door to City Hall. It won't take long to pop in there before voting.
I didn't celebrate Samhain last night. I don't know what it was but I ended up completely drained of all energy and just couldn't function. That happened last holiday, too. I should look into barriers because I don't like something out there stealing what little energy I've got.
My birds are back at the feeders. I love watching them frolic and chase each other but they will be eating me out of house and home before long. I have some sunflower heads I plan on putting out the first snow. I also have some decorative corn I'll put out tonight when we celebrate Samhain...albeit a brief ritual. I still have no energy. I plan on a smaller ritual indoors to compensate. And I have my electric candle in the window to light the way for the ancestors until Yule.
I also still need to put plastic on the windows before I dare turn on the furnace. I only have three windows to cover although I have some outdoor plastic I could use on some other windows. I might have to use that upstairs as the tape doesn't stick on those windows because it gets too cold. Nailing the plastic on with cardboard strips might work better. I also need to tack down the curtain on the back entryway. It doesn't stay shut on both sides because of the layout. I only need to tack down one side. The other will stay in place, but that back isn't insulated at all and we saved a lot of energy by using a thermal curtain last winter. It will also help if I don't use that back door, too. It actually would be easier to take the clothes out the front door and around the house than trying to squeeze past the narrow hallway that is halfway tacked down.
And speaking of clothes. I need to wash a few loads tomorrow before it rains again. I'm pretty content not using the dryer anymore. Worse case scenario, I can use it but it will take twice as long and I can use it to get rid of the lint on the winter things. That was my biggest problem last winter. I don't even need the heat to accomplish this. It just takes longer for the clothes to dry as we don't keep the house very warm. About 60F last winter and we were fine. I also use a potpourri pot with just water and a tea candle that helps bring humidity into the atmosphere. It lasts about 6 hours for one tea candle and one pot of water. Plus I like candles lit during the day. It just makes the ambience nicer.
I finished up my mom's mittens and started on my dads but this particular yarn, although supposedly the same weight, is much thicker and will make the mittens way too big. So I bought some more yarn today but got the same kind I made Tom's out of so I don't need as much. I really am set and won't buy anymore yarn for a long time now. I'm not promising, but I will try to use up what I've got. I'm really at the point we have to tighten our belts if we're going to afford heat.
Off to crawl into bed and knit. Zach is making supper tonight because I need a break. He's pretty good at it but still needs the practice. And I have a ton of stuff on the dvr and from the library to watch. Not to mention all the books I picked up today.
TTFN
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