Hibernating in January

So far, hibernating in January hasn't been too hard to do.  Basically I hibernate all year, it's just that in January I MEAN TO.

Not much is new here.  The Christmas decor has been put away except for the things that are 'winter' and strings of light that I need in the darkness of January.

I put my Civil War reading aside for the holidays.  The Christmas reading that I did this year was wonderful.  Most of my time I spent reading an anthology I'd picked up years ago at a thrift store (where else?  yes.  i heard you!).  So now I'm wondering whether I should start reading the Civil War book that is presently on my lap, or if I should read something happier in these dark days of winter.

When I have free time I am perusing Pinterest.  I've got a bunch of (hopefully)good low-carb recipes pinned that I plan to try soon.  This month I've made several batches of lotion that have worked wonders on my dry hands.  But mostly I pin craft and repurposing ideas.  Like I need any more ideas.  But it's fun, and who doesn't need more fun in their life?

After all the Christmas parties were over we had our carpets cleaned.  THGGM had purchased a groupon for it.  It did not look bad immediately after they finished, but OH MY did it look AWFUL the next day.  One spot in particular was a stain that they said could not be removed.  It was a blueberry stain.  Well, the carpet cleaners couldn't get it out, but the stain remover recipe I found on Pinterest certainly did - and I had everything in the house to make it.  So the stains are coming up, but the carpet has the feeling like there is still A LOT of soap in it.

Well.  That was boring.

But seriously, when one is hibernating there really isn't all that much to say.

Friday? Seriously?

Today we had our carpets cleaned.

Takes 24 hours to dry.

I'm stuck in a maze of displaced furniture.

Friday - You Came So Quickly

Instead of listening to me complain incessantly, last week THGGM made me a doctor's appointment for today.

And I am fine. Just another thing "we'll have to keep an eye on".

While I was there I remembered that it had been awhile since I'd had a tetanus shot. I thought it had been 11 years. I was a bit off as it had been 16 years. Now I feel as if I could run barefoot across my basement floor without fear of dying from lockjaw.

The biggest surprise of all was that I had actually DROPPED six pounds since my last visit. And at that last visit I had dropped 10 pounds from the previous one. But THGGM? He has dropped 22 pounds in less than two months. This just goes to show that I cannot even win for losing. His weight loss is apparent. Mine? If I look veeery veeery closely my pinky fingers look a tiny bit thinner.

Friday? Seriously?

Is this thing on?

Last night and for most of today I had no Internet connection. Reminds me of the short story, The Machine Stops. I could barely cope.

Anyway...

Speaking of stories.., I've finished The Primitive. I cannot say that I liked it. I know I HATED how it ended. But then, there are two more books in the trilogy. Someday I might look them up, but I'm in no hurry. Although I didn't like it, it was interesting and I'm not sorry I read it.

Whenever I write or hear the word "trilogy" it reminds me of two separate incidents. I purchased a book about books once - looking for good leads on good reads - and the author told of a new book, the FIFTH in a trilogy. Are good editors that hard to find? The other "trilogy" incident occurred in a group I attended where one woman kept referring to the books in a Try-Al-O-Gee she was reading. Once would have been difficult enough, but she just kept saying it over and over again. Now, it would be nice if there were a third time, but things don't actually work out like that for me. I'm inept enough myself that I try not to let things like that bug me. Yet, they do.

Today I had many household duties to perform. In between them all I managed to read an entire book. Ahhh. That felt SOOO good. This one I liked. I'm reading through memoirs, still trying to convince myself that I could actually write one.

The high school varsity soccer team that Youngest Son coaches is still winning! The next game is tomorrow at 2:00. Yesterday they defeated the team that won the State title last year. Have I mentioned lately that basketball is my favorite high school sport? Yes. As much as I love to be outside (i do too.) I so enjoy a controlled environment for sports. And wouldn't it be wonderful for the Puma's to win the State championship? Yes. Indeed it would. Why is soccer played outside, and even in the rain? I don't get it.

For those wondering, I haven't made any more pipe cleaner people this week. No. I believe I have something like nineteen and counting, so I've put it on hold. I DID buy a really cool arch that holds a pocket watch, which prompted me to move the whole lot of them onto the dresser in the bedroom, where they now have a lovely grandfather-ish clock. The watch used to belong to THGGM's great grandfather. At the thrift store we frequent the kind sales people make many comments about our purchases. We no longer try to explain ourselves. I suppose that you are wondering why there are no pictures. Oh, there are. I just didn't think of it until I had already posted a picture of Famke, and she is much cuter than the pipe cleaner people and their new clock (the holder cost a dollar).

One of my jobs today was to clear off my desk. Is there anything more telling than what is on one's desk? My desk told me that I have a bunch of unfinished business to take care of. Why I pile it next to me and even occasionally cover the pile with a cute vintage dishtowel is BEYOND ME. Who do I think is going to do it for me? There is no one. I have these urges to boss someone around that go unfulfilled.

Tonight when THGGM came home from work we went to The Mall. It has a name, I just can never remember it. We used to call it The New Mall, but it's been there for a decade now, so we've dropped the "new". Anyway.., THGGM will get weird cravings from time to time for the Chinese food court food. And, finally, I've found something there that I like! Green bean chicken (i have never said that i was interesting. NEVER).

After dinner we split up - I immediately headed for Barnes and Noble, he to Younkers because he still has birthday gift cards. I can ALWAYS find something in Barnes and Noble, but tonight? Not even one magazine stood out. At one point I had three in my greedy hands, but when it came right down to it I didn't see anything that really screamed - JUDY! You Need This! - which is, of course, unusual.

Maybe I'm growing up. Although I seriously doubt it.

Hello Mellow Monday

THGGM went back to work this morning.

Why am I so tired, I wonder?

Once the work of the 'vacation' week was over, we did manage to get in quiet a few antique malls.

One, in Spring Lake, is a favorite of ours. I guess one would consider it 'real' antiques. The kind that does not sell metal doll high chairs at affordable prices. No. This one sells great stuff at 'out of reach of the masses prices'. But, it was fun to look anyway. They also have a huge out building with good priced stuff, but in 90 plus weather - the actual hottest day of the summer here - I wasn't about to enter an out building. THGGM said we shall come back when it's cooler and I shall browse.

At our next stop I could have gone wild. It was FILLED with the cute little oddsy-endsy stuff that I like. But, I exercised restraint and only bought a tiny glass Boston Terrier, a small plate to match the children's dishes I'm adding to piece by piece (i now have four pieces!), and five juice glasses. By our third stop we were tired. Both of us KNOW that two antique malls are our absolute limit, but I begged and whined a little and we went to a third. Of course, that was where I found the metal doll high chair.

Jonge, Famke, and Kado came today. They too had had a very busy week/weekend. Sometimes, that makes for a very hard Monday. But today, everyone was very mellow. Kado napped twice, two hours each time. Famke napped her usual two hours - the two hours between Kado's two naps. Funny, how that works. Jonge had a fun afternoon on the computer (thanks, kris, for more good kid's sites!). But they did all play very nicely with MY doll high chair. So did I. No one even had to remind me to share.

I Spent Today in the Kitchen

At one point during my morning, I had to stop and look at myself in the mirror just to be sure that it was REALLY me.

It was.

I spent the morning cooking.

Besides dinner today, I have possibly four other meals all ready to go.

In the distant past, I used to be prepared. Lately, I cannot even THINK of what anyone could possibly want to eat that I could make.

Even though in a cupboard just over my computer there are dozens and dozens of cookbooks that I just HAD to HAVE.

Anyway.., I didn't make anything TODAY using a cookbook, but I think maybe I could if I wanted to.

I had all of this done AND cleaned up in two hours.

I'm not exactly sure just where this energy came from, but I'm not complaining.

(well. not that i ever do complain. i mean, that's just soooo not me.)

Memorable Memorial Weekend Picnic

Today THGGM and I traveled north to my sister and brother-in-law's home for a family picnic.

Only one nephew was missing, but he has a great excuse. He just moved to Baltimore. That would be a long drive for a summer picnic.

It's not like we haven't seen each other a lot lately, but it was SOO nice to be together for FUN.

And, it was that.

I forgot to bring my camera.

Just picture this:

Wonderful picnic food, adults and children shooting squirt guns at each other, marshmallow s'more stickiness, and a nest of baby robins that kept lifting up their heads for us.

All delightful. Well, if you don't mind noise, water, and being sticky. I don't mind. Much.

We drove home through the orchard region which is about all that stands between my sister's house up-north and our house. Everything green, so much blooming, blue sky as far as our eyes could see.

I didn't have to strain too hard to hear what seemed to be my mom saying, "Oh look, John! The kids are still all getting together. I always hoped they would still do that."

My Mom

I clearly remember that last Saturday I spent some time contemplating the coming week.

It was going to be a busy one.

My thoughts raced to Friday. If I could make it to Friday things would calm down. A bit. My sister and I had plans to go to the nursing home for the Mother's Day Tea.

But very early Friday morning we received a call from the nursing home. They had found my mom in her bed gasping for breath and turning blue.

I'd like to think that I live my life thinking of other people more than myself, but when THGGM, who had answered the phone, gave me the message what I actually heard my 'not quite awake self' say was, "I cannot do this again. It hasn't even been a year yet."

But then I remembered that life isn't all about me. Thankfully, THGGM went to the ER with me. When we got there my mom was improving. We were told that it looked like an episode of congestive heart failure, which isn't something she had ever had before.

Many tests were taken and my mom seemed to be improving. Lasix removed TONS of fluid. She is alert, and for an Alzheimer's patient, calm and cooperative.

But today her cardiologist told us that she has a large blood clot in her heart which is causing her heart to function at only 30-35%. Even so, her vitals are all good. They have given her shots of blood thinner today and tomorrow she will have the test done again. Hopefully, it will show that the shots have worked and she will return soon to 'the home' and be on oral blood thinners from here on out.

I think I am tired. I'm not awake enough to know for sure. But all the signs seem to be pointing that way.

I threw in the picture of Famke just for fun. Because Famke is fun.

Making More Progress

I am continuing to make progress in my basement.
It's not the lovely studio of my dreams, although I suppose it could be if I really wanted it to be.
But I am happily settling for functional, and it IS that.
One wall could use a coat of paint, and we have the paint. And the color goes well with the curtains on the opposite wall. Another wall will soon receive several panels of lattice from which I should be able to hang things.
I have my eyes on two (or three) white cabinets that would look nice along the newly painted wall. But I shall have to convince THGGM that it's worth his while to move any more furniture for me.
THGGM and Youngest Son moved an old card file that had been my dad's over here. It has made it as far as the garage. Once that makes it's way to the basement (it is very heavy) I shall be able to do my LAST amount of sorting. For awile anyway.

Let's See.., This Must Still Be Tuesday..

Today I had a lovely visit with my dad. His IV meds are doing their wonders. Of course, this is a short-term fix for a problem with no cure, but we are taking the time we've been given and are going to squeeze as much out of it as we can.

I had planned to stay longer, but he needed to rest and I was getting an odd tell-tale pain behind my eye.

When I arrived home, I noticed so much that needed doing that I immediately set to work attempting to solve other people's problems since I cannot solve my own. I'm weird like that.

I also obsess on my poor cat whenever there is a problem with either of my parents that I cannot possibly worry about, as they would not want me to. In an effort to honor them, I turn to Uncle Barb, my sad old diabetic nearly toothless cat - with fleas.

Uncle Barb was freshly scrubbed yesterday with the nice smelling herbal remedy. It does kill some fleas. Others.., well, I actually saw them scoff. Not even behind my back. Right to my face.

So, since I cannot cure Alzheimer's or congestive heart failure with pulmonary hypertension and a bunch of other odd things - I DID feel up to combating fleas.

Armed with a deep bucket in one arm and a bloodied flea-bitten cat in the other, I set to work in my lovely pink bathroom.

It SEEMED like a good idea at the time. I held dear old Uncle Barb up to his neck in nice warm slightly soapy water.

Now, let me pause here to ask you:

Have you ever seen those clips on TV of caribou running through the snow, migrating to who-knows-where?

This is very similar to the scene I witnessed on my cat.

Seriously. I paused for a moment to take in this strange spectacle. It looked as if the fleas where acting on the belief that if they were to reached the head of this cat a helicopter would pick them up and air-lift them to safety.

It was an ugly scene.

I held him submerged to his neck for at least 30 minutes. I used the shower head which - I wish I would have know before I started - does not drop down far enough to provide good spray on a small animal in a bucket.

Let's stop again so I can ask you:

Have you ever held in one hand a wet cat while it is being eaten alive my marauding fleas and in the other hand a shower sprayer and tried to effectively make contact with the two? Trust me. Don't do it.

Okay. Now where were we? Oh, yes.

Uncle Barb is now warm, well fed and resting comfortable.

Flea drops have been applied to him. The basement and back porch have been flea bombed and tomorrow the rest of the house will be done.

And now I shall go to bed to finish up reading Farmer Boy while wondering how in the world civilization has survived this long without having yet found a way to eradicate the simple cat flea. This seems like it should have been a priority over, say, putting a man on the moon.

But, nobody asked me.

Stitching and Mending

I talked to my dad this morning and he seemed to be doing better.

The doctor could tell just by listening that his pneumonia is clearing up.

Next up will be relieving him of the extra fluid in his system.

He sounded much clearer this morning also.

I am SO glad.

Yesterday he was suffering from a bit of mental confusion. He does this EVERY time he takes antibiotics. The medical staff think it is due to his shortness of breath and fever.

Dr. Judy thinks it is antibiotics. I come from a looong line of people who respond oddly to common medications.

The picture has NOTHING directly to due with this post, but see that little stitched doll? I made that for Famke when she was a baby. It has been missing for, oh, about a year now. I thought it was loooong gone.

Since I don't have a car and my dad is in the hospital, we have his car. Mostly, I take THGGM's car (which by the way we just sunk $1500 into last week) because my dad's car is HUGE and I am mostly parking in a cramped 'under construction' parking ramp. When I went to the hospital yesterday I remembered (finally!) that my dad wanted his cane. As I was pulling it out from the backseat, what should appear but Famke's doll!

How in the world it got into my dad's car is a mystery.

I'm just glad to have her back.

And so thankful that my dad seems to be on the mend!

Conversations Heard at Restaurant

Things in my little world have felt a bit mixed up lately. I do not deal well with change. Even GOOD change.

Two weeks ago THGGM and I were on a nice vacation in Traverse City. It was lovely. Relaxing and refreshing.

The following week, THGGM was still on vacation. It felt as if I got nothing done. It was fun, but not as productive as I had hoped.

(meaning, i still do not have shelves in my kitchen closet, although the boards are cut and the lines drawn for hanging.)

What we DID do was go out to eat A LOT. Well, we didn't actually EAT a lot, we went out a lot.

At breakfast one morning we were sitting in a section with two sweet looking elderly women.

And, a younger business man eating alone while conducting business on his cell phone.

The elderly women were actually the closest people to us (by this time, thggm and i had absolutely nothing left to say to each other - two weeks of vacation together will do this, and neither of us mind one bit. this always causes one of us to quote a line from 'when harry met sallly') but we never heard even one word of their conversation. They were well mannered ladies.

For reasons unbeknownst (i love that word!) to me, the younger business man had NO PROBLEM at all talking very loudly on his cell phone.

It was almost like he was the elderly one and hard of hearing also.

Without wanting too, I now know personal information about his client. I also know that someone in the office is extremely mad about something, but it is not this man's fault. No. It wasn't him. Maybe if he had only said this once, it wouldn't have stuck with me, but he seemed to feel compelled to repeat this over and over, increasing the volume with each telling.

But, if he were the only loud one, breakfast may have been relaxing. I find it easy to ignore things about which I have no interest, and I have no interest in real estate nor money.

Enter: Loud Mom and Two Year Old with ability to masterfully control her Loud Mom.

Loud Mom ENTERED the room by saying LOUDLY - in a voice I have only ever heard used by that thick-bearded guy on TV who sells things like OxyClean - STOP SAYING THAT. YOU CAN HAVE CHOCOLATE CAKE AND ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST BUT WE HAVE TO ORDER IT FIRST.

Although we NEVER personally talked with this woman nor her 2 year old dictator of a child, I am privy to much information about the two of them.

They are moving. (moving is stressful. i know that.)

They are going to live with grandparents for awhile while daddy fixes up the new house on many acres in the country. (hopefully enough acres to not disturb close neighbors.)

I know the name of their dog, and the name of a dog they may have to borrow so that foxes and bears do not eat their little dog. (comforting words to a child of two, no doubt.)

She does not normally give her child chocolate cake and ice cream for breakfast, she said, but the little dear wants it so badly. She even woke up asking for it. (i did once feed my 22 month old chocolate cake for breakfast just because he asked for it. but, i was 9 months pregnant and in the privacy of my own home. also, the boy was shocked that i acquiesced.)

It's okay to give her chocolate cake and ice cream for breakfast because she will be taking a nap when they get back to the hotel. (really? how'd that work out, i wonder.)

Not only did the child get chocolate cake and ice cream for breakfast, she was escorted to the bakery window to pick out the exact piece she wanted. The entire time she worked at eating it Loud Mom ran a constant play-by-play of everything that had happened so far that day. To the daughter.

Then, she called the child's grandma and repeated it all over again to her. Loudly. (she asked to talk to grandpa, but thank goodness! he was busy!)

Next, she told the waitress, the waitress who had obviously never served chocolate cake and ice cream before noon to a 2 year old.

Followed by a retelling in triplicate to the businessman. The businessman who told the child what a nice mommy she had for ordering her chocolate cake and ice cream for breakfast.

Oh, and just for fun, the restaurant started filling up, and EVERY passer-by got to hear the unabridged account of why the two year old was having chocolate cake and ice cream for breakfast.

I believe that I would be less bothered by breathing second hand smoke than by being exposed to the sounds of people who have no clue that there IS such a thing as an inside voice.

There. I got that off my chest.

Aren't my peonies beautiful?

I love them!

A Bit'o Cheese Please, for My Whine

Today I am coming out of a migraine-induced fog.

Saturday I was unbelievably tired. So tired I was silly. I still managed to get in one thrift store, but I just could not seem to wake up.

In the evening I went to my dad's to visit and to organize his medications for the week. This is a job that requires my FULL attention.

It almost seemed like I was starting to wake up. We stood for awhile watching the interesting ducks out on the lake.

He told me about his great visit with my mom on Friday and his not so great visit with her in the afternoon (they were at a 'concert' scheduled for a half hour but it went on (and on) for an hour and a half). My comment was that I would have responded the same way my mom did.

Anyway...

I gathered up all of the medications.

As I was sorting through bottle after bottle, I looked up to say something to my dad and it looked as if he had been split in two. I tried to focus, but my left I would not cooperate.

When I looked back down, there it was, a hideously weird optical migraine.

I hate them.

They make me nauseous. They make me dizzy. I can't focus. I can't see.

My dad drove me home. THGGM rode back with him to bring the car home.

The actual visual disturbances do not usually last more than 30-40 minutes, but then the other fun symptoms kick in.

I slept all day Sunday.

I'm sick of this. I do try to find a silver lining, but really. If I get to lay around on the couch all day, I'd truly like to be alert enough to ENJOY it.

Can't Think of a Title

What am I saying? I can't even think.


My mother had an amazing memory until she lost it to Alzheimer's. She also had an incredible record-keeping system. It was called her calendar. Her hand writing was awful due to that silly idea someone had way-back-when that left handedness was a mortal sin, or something. She always knew what we did and when we did it. No one else could read it, but she could, and it was there in black and white.

Then, there is me.

My blog is my memory. Some days I am absolutely shocked when I read it. I barely remember adding those posts that happen late at night.

Anyway, I digress...

My dad had such a frightful incident Saturday. The skin on the leg that he had cellulitis in (i remember it was five years ago, because they celebrated their 55th anniversary in the hospital and now they have been married 60 years.) is very fragile. He had been telling me about a spot on his leg that was not healing, but that isn't even the spot that bled.

When he was hospitalized five years ago with cellulitis, they gave him an antibiotic that caused him to hallucinate. Of course, my dad being my dad, he didn't tell anyone. But at one point he asked me if I could see the brightly colored flowers on the wallpaper dancing around the room.

I can say that I most definitely did not see any such thing.

There wasn't any brightly colored wallpaper, even. Nor flowers.

They changed his meds.

Now back to Saturday and that nasty bleed. The paramedics wrapped his ankle in a pressure bandage and the on-call doctor felt sure that as long as he was stable (and he was) he could wait to see the doctor on Monday.

Now, me being me, on Monday I got a migraine. It was time. No news there. But, it was a crazy bad one, which meant that I dared not drive. It might possibly have something to do with the stress I was still feeling about my dad having another NEW 'thing to watch'. I will just tell you right now, that I don't DO blood. It's like some people with needles. Those don't bother me. But show me many many large puddles of blood and then show me the trash bag filled with towels that had cleaned up 'the worst of it' and I will show you me, laying on the floor in a dead faint.

So, THGGM graciously took my dad to the doctor. She gave him a prescription for an antibiotic, and an appointment for an ultrasound to check for blood clots (blood clots?! hum. i saw NO evidence of those saturday! he is on blood thinner, obviously.) Anyway, they wanted to be sure, so THGGM took him there, too. The report was all good, and there were no blood clots.

Back to the dancing flowers...

When I talked to my dad this morning, he mentioned that he had been having nightmares. Cars up in trees, people dangling out of them, people who have been dead for years surprising him, really weird stuff.

Then, I remembered.

Hmm. That antibiotic. I found the pill bottle. Oh, that name rings a bell.

That was the antibiotic from five years ago.

I called the doctor and got him switched over to something less nightmare/hallucination inducing.

His leg looked much better tonight.

And this may seem odd, but now I can see those bright dancing flowers on the wallpaper that weren't there five years ago...

(it was a year ago today that i rode in the back of a police car to go look for my mom who was out wandering the neighborhood.)

Your Questions Answered

I must apologize for doing such a poor job of answering questions and responding to comments. I've no excuse beyond the usual ones, but, I do still feel bad about it.

Question #1 - What are you reading now?

I am still reading "The Borrowers". And "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom", "Snuggle Puppy", and "Goodnight Gorilla" as they are presently Famke's favorites.

Question #2 - How is your mom doing?

Still on a steady decline into the blurry world of Alzheimer's. But, she seems to be relaxed and contented. Alzheimer's is a cruel disease.

Question #3 - How is it possible that Famke will be a year old in two more days?

I do not know. It seems like yesterday she was just a bouncing bump under Daughter's maternity top. Yet, I cannot remember life without her!

Question #4 - What chocolate chip cookie recipe do you use?

My chocolate chip cookies originate from the Betty Crocker Drop Cookie recipe. I replace the shortening with butter and use whole wheat flour for most of the flour. To this recipe I add a half cup of chocolate malt powder. Yum. Since I am diabetic, I rarely make these. They are 'to die for' but not 'to die from'.

Question #5 - Have you had any of those weird 'eye migraines' lately?

Funny you should ask! Yes, as a matter of fact, this very morning. Today is my only day home alone this week, and did I ever have plans! But, on my way into the shower, the shimmering dancing waving spirals of light took over my vision. I laid down instead.

Question #6 - What phot0 program do you use?

I use the Corel Photo Album 6 which came with my Dell laptop. At first I did not like it, as figuring out new things when the old things were working perfectly for me is not at the top of my 'want to do' list. But now I LOVE it. Especially now that I've figured out how to add text to a picture. This is probably because I LOVE to label things. My camera is a Fuji that I have dropped soooo many times that I am in a state of constant amazement that the beloved thing still works.

Question #7 - Compared to last summer, how is this summer going for you?

Let's see...last summer Oldest Son and Daughter-in-law moved. Daughter and Son-in-law moved. We purchased a house and moved. Daughter had a baby. My mom went into rapid decline. So, I would have to say that compared to last summer this one has been heaps and heaps of less boxes better!

Question #8 - Didn't you say once that you planned to open an Etsy account and attempt to sell the weird stuff you make?

I do say a lot of strange things. I've been reading the sellers information on Ebay but I haven't put anything up yet. Etsy somehow sounds more fun. And, if you know me, you know that I am ALL ABOUT fun. Hah. That is, of course, MY IDEA of fun. Which is to glue stuff to other stuff and then take pictures of it.

Question #9 - What are you planning to do with your spool 'Little People'?

Secretly, I'm planning to make millions of dollars selling them to people who will love them as much as I do. In reality, I will probably add them to a shelf until the day THGGM finally says 'How long do we have to keep these out?' Then, I will add them to my collection of stuff that seemed like a great idea at the time, but now just looks like a 'Judy-thing'.

Question #10 - Do you realize how lucky you are that you and THGG(Y)M both enjoy antique and thrift shopping together?

I must be honest here. THGGM has come to loath thrift shopping. He goes because he likes to see where his small change is being spent. He does enjoy a good romp through an antique mall though. But, I feel I must share with you that we do not actually shop together. In fact, we rarely see each other until suddenly he appears at my side saying something like "I need to lay down". We both like it that way. He cares not a twit to pick through sewing notions, ephemera, or old games. He has not even a passing interest in old books. What he has is a great eye for furniture and since he is handy with paint, he does remarkably well scouting for finds that are improved with his magic. But, he has declared 'no more' and is sticking to it nicely.

There. Now, if I did not answer your question, or you have another for me, please feel free to ask away. And, I will answer - God willing (and the creek don't rise).

Maybe I'm Not Supposed to Sew?

Yesterday I truly planned to sew. The machine is actually plugged in. I have a very simple projected laid out on my sewing table. All systems

were 'go'.

But, Daughter appeared at my door with a message that THGGM had called, his glasses had broke, and she needed to drop me off at the eye doctor's office so I could drive him home.

The hope was that they could make them while he waited.

That would have been nice.

But, the machine in our area that does amazing things like make lenses in only an hour was also broke. Another company was available, but they do not cooperate with our insurance company.

We were put in contacted with the next closest lens-making machine, which was over an hour drive away. Really, we had no choice.

THGGM could not remember having a spare pair of glasses. It had been over two years, which means we had moved since then, so I looked through all of the possible drawers in all of the tables that had at one time or another been THGGM night stand. No spare pair turned up.

So, since he was unable to see to drive, and his old glasses unfixable, which would mean that I would have to drive him to the far side of Lansing, I got to work with my jewelry glue and his magnetic sunglasses.

Using jewelry glue and wire I was able to stick and tie his two-piece frames to the sunglasses. It was extremely unsightly, but at least the poor man had sight. This enabled him to drive, and me? Well, it made me happier about going.

We arrived before the 7:00 cut-off for having lenses made in an hour. It was in a very nice mall, so I was able to get in some shopping. They had a fabulous Schuler Books in the mall. It wasn't nearly as enjoyable for THGGM, who was 'stuck' wearing sunglasses.

Isn't this a long and boring story? Yes. Yes it is. Just wait. It gets better.

In exactly an hour, his new glasses were finished. I just find that SO amazing. How DO they DO that?

Anyway...the drive home was wonderful. Michigan is absolutely green and beautiful this time of year. No matter which way we looked we could see deer grazing on all of the lovely corn. I'm sure we saw over a hundred deer.

THGGM was very thankful that he was able to get his glasses replaced. He had already used up half a sick day, something that he does NOT like to do.

At about 9:15 we arrived home. He had his old, broken, glued and wired glasses in his new case. They ARE certifiably a piece of junk now, but since he didn't get sunglasses this time, we thought it might be a good idea to keep these in the car for an emergency.

He opened up the storage compartment. And, guess what?

There were his spare pair of glasses.