Dusty markers

My office marker and pen holder

Looks like things are a bit dusty at work. Not been using the hi-liters all that much, probably because most of what I read is on the computer. And the big black markers are dusty, too.

I was bit by some nasty little bug yesterday. I threw up for the first time in ages without the cause being a migraine headache. I had heartburn from not eating and when I tried to eat some toast, that resulted in a huge stomach ache. Most of my day was spent with a cold, wet wash cloth over my face and bravely trying some Advil. I did succumb to a migraine pill later in the day and by midnight I was feeling much better. My sister and I watched "Witches of Eastwick". She had not seen it before. She is a big Cher fan. (movies, not music). We laughed at Jack Nicholson.

I am slowly recovering today. Working an hour and taking a break for an hour. Every time I get up and move around (sweeping, scooping kitty litter) my stomach begins to gurgle and ache. I did eat some scrambled eggs earlier. I am going to try to make some rigatoni and sloppy jo's later. Requests by kids and sister. She will make them if I ask. She has volunteered. But, my kitchen needs cleaned up anyway.

Last week my daughter cleaned our refrigerator out. She said she feared for her food. It took her two long hours. I helped her put the food outside in a cooler and I left. Went to my brother's house. When I came home, I had one clean and sparkling refrigerator. I told her, "Hey. If it were up to me, I would just throw the refrigerator out and get a new one. It's the American way!"

I have a family get together planned for New Year's Eve. No alcohol (my sister is trying very hard). We are getting together with my brother and his wife. They always remain sober because they are part of the fire department and EMT squad in a small village. They say you can count on one run every New Year's eve. We are going to play Left, Center, Right and Tripoley. Nickels only. No big gambling, here. I took Left, Center, Right to our gathering on Christmas day and it was a huge hit. My nieces and nephews loved it. I had the most fun when we let my grand nephew roll the dice. What a ham!

Okay. My rest time is up. To the kitchen.

Boxed Titten

I went through my December photos on this blog and told myself "No more cat photos!" My nephew sent me this one and I couldn't resist. It is one of their Christmas gifts opened on Christmas eve. We got a huge laugh when my daughter opened it. It had a yellow caution tape on it and it "popped" open and startled my daughter.

Titten started vomiting foam and acting lethargic Christmas day. It continued yesterday. When my daughter told me she was vomiting again this morning, I thought to myself 'Time to call the vet.' I went to get the little thing and picked her up. She had sleepy eyes. I gave her a wadded up piece of foil to play with and she began playing. My daughter said she ate 'like a hog' this morning. That is normal for her. And, just now she attacked her brother (playfully). We call them brother and sister because they came together, but he is definitely a couple of months older than she is - so they probably are not from the same litter.

We are off today on an excursion today. I am meeting a friend at an Indian restaurant. I get to eat here about once a year and this is a treat. I talked my daughter into going. I want to make sure that the little kitten is healthy before we leave, though. I will cancel to take her to the vet's office. Whoops, never mind. The two newest kittens just bounded into my room knocking my trash can over. I chided Mr. Tibbs to be gentle with her. She is still in recovery. She is playful.

The garbage men have just picked my tree up off the curb. No lingering holiday for me this year. Hah!

Temptation

Somehow I managed to resist this dessert yesterday. There was a huge cheesecake sitting next to it, also. That I also missed out on. I was not in the least bit hungry. We ate dinner at about 4 p.m. and I didn't touch another thing after that except for a few salted peanuts. And plenty of ice water.

There were about 25 of us at my sister's house. My brother brought his favorite gift (a remote controlled fart machine - NO lie!) and we were merciless. We taped it to the bottom of the most sat in chair and as various victims came and went we tortured them with the device. What a blast!

A bunch of us played Left, Center Right (with nickels) after dinner. Almost everybody won the Center bowl of coins on each play. It was a nice, fair night. A few members of the family could not make it (my daughter spent the day with her beau's family) but we had a bunch, anyway. My niece made eggnog jello shots. I did not touch them. I heard they were a bit rubbery.

Sugarplums

While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.

Glad it's over?

Santa and Frosty atop the organ

I didn't notice when I took the picture, that the little wooden snowman was laying there. It looks like he is dead. He is just relaxing.

Is anyone else glad that Christmas is over? Well, we open our gifts on Christmas eve and everybody is whipped. Kids are playing Xbox 360. The food is put away, the dishes are either clean or in the dish washer. Candles have been blown out. Beds are made. My sister, nephew and niece were able to make it here for the holiday.

We all go tomorrow to my eldest sister's house for Christmas dinner and another gift exchange. That isn't as hectic as tonight is. We didn't go overboard in gift buying this year and we were done opening by 9 p.m. There were some duplicates, but I keep all my receipts so I will be the one exchanging them.

We had BBQ ham, creamed chicken sandwiches, appetizer meatballs, nacho dip, olives, salted mixed nuts, pickles, cheese, chocolate, peanut butter and chocolate and more chocolate.

Wow, I am beat.

A Christmas from long, long ago

1970

I was ten years old. It was the year of the Kent State shooting. I was in the fifth grade. I had one of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Slates. She went to Hawaii every year and we had a luau theme party. She gave us stars for reciting things like "My Country 'Tis of Thee". She introduced me to Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles" and "Pearly Shells". She made me want to be a better person.

Teachers like Mrs. Slates change lives.

Marmalade

We have a huge pet bed we purchased for our huge dog, Sable. She doesn't use it. The cats love it. Here is Titten (I like to call her Marmalade) stretched out. I placed the bed in front of the heater and it is a big hit.

I usually have my alarm set for 6:15 a.m. I try not to hit the snooze, but you know how it is. The other night I said "Enough" and moved the minutes to :55. I was going to start getting up at 5 minutes BEFORE six a.m. and get a head start on things. Guess who forgot to change the hour?

I snapped the alarm off and got up feeling very refreshed. Huh, I thought. This won't be so bad. I come out of my bedroom to see my daughter already in the bathroom getting ready for school. What? She decided to get up early, too? "Do you know what time it is? It's almost seven o'clock!" I realized what I had done. Ah, well. At least I am going to remember to change it before I go to bed tonight. Right? Right.

The candle is burning

My candle. Both ends.

Me = chicken. My head is off and I am running, running, running.

I drove to Columbus yesterday to go with my nephew to his cardiologist meeting. He explained the procedure to us. Words are floating through my head, such as Cardiopulmonary Bypass surgery, right atrium, short circuit, freezing, homograft aortic valve replacement, bovine valve, cadaver valve, hybrid, scar tissue... and this Internet thing is wonderful. Just a few clicks and I am reading all about what that guy said.

It was funny. When we left I told my nephew, "Well, these aren't your parents' doctors." The doctor included in one of his sentences, "pissed off" and his assistant said in one of her sentences "that sucks" and called my nephew a "smart ass" in a joking manner. LOL!

My cards from this year

Above are the cards I sent out this year. Co-workers received the green ones. Family and friends (depending on their likes) received the kitten or Ralphie in the bunny costume. Is there anybody who has not seen "A Christmas Story" with Ralphie and the Red Ryder BB gun? My co-worker had not even heard of it. It boggles my mind that with all the hoopla about the leg lamp, fragilie, and "You'll shoot your eye out!" she has never heard of the movie.

Someone told me that Bob Barker (of television fame) is the owner of the company that sells supplies to most all of the jails in the states. I just looked it up. It is Bob Barker Company, but my research tells me that it is a businessman in North Carolina. Not "Bob come on down! Barker". We were talking about this because we can only send my sister money orders. Inmates have to purchase their own toothpaste, toothbrushes, toiletries etc... I suppose there are some that are provided, but you still need a candy bar every now and then.

If you get the chance, I recommend that you try your hand playing Left, Center Right. Fun stuff.

I am off to Columbus tomorrow to meet with my nephew and his team of doctors for a Q. and A. session. I will visit a mall in the morning and my nephew and I will visit one in the afternoon. This snow storm had better be history by then!

Buttons and more

When I tour the trees on display at a museum in a town near to me, I always try and stop in to give respect to the Missus. While her husband was busy in the knife making and train carving area of business, she was an artist herself. You can read about her here.

I have a "free" day today. One where I am not obligated to be anywhere. Today is promised to no one. I can hopefully get my decorations up. My spirit has been low the last week or so. I do not have any decorations put up, save for two bright snowflake lights on our living room wall. I moved the organ to make more room and this corner is so dark. The holiday snowflake lights did the trick.

Now, I have to drink my coffee and gear up for today. So much to do. I am just not that "into" it this year. Family woes. So many are unhappy. So many are struggling. The entire economy is depressed. All co-workers and friends are feeling monetary woes this year. My sister will not be joining me for the holidays. She will be alone in a cold, dark cell. I know, I know. She brings it on herself. So everybody tells me over and over again. I know this. But, that old saying keeps going through my mind. "There but for the grace of God, go I."

We all have choices. We get up. We make the choice. I believe this with all my heart. However, I also believe that some of us live in a state of mind where we have tuned our inside voices out. Or, we no longer hear them. The little voice that is telling us to do the right thing or not do the wrong thing is no longer heard. For whatever reason we no longer listen, or we cannot listen. I believe that is where my sister is. I could be wrong.

We watched Deck the Halls last evening. Not great, not horrible. Matthew Broderick looks so different, I didn't even recognize him in some of the scenes until after he turned. When a scene changed and this guy walked out, I'd be like "Who is that?" Oh, that's Matthew. Or, maybe I am just not used to seeing him in a movie. The electricity and the light displays were a little over the top. I'll tell you one thing. Kristin Chenoweth needs to sing a lot more. That is one sweet voice.

There is no secret in the fact that I have had some difficulty with my co-worker. Most of you have heard me speak of how tedious she can be from time to time. She had a nervous breakdown and is out until the first of the year. Some folks say she will be out longer. She is addicted to pain meds although she will not admit that. She had enough drugs (oh, sorry - medication) in her on a daily basis to knock a horse out. Many people kept saying that this was going to happen.

I don't know enough about this type of medicine to know what to expect of recovery or withdrawal. Most folks are saying she is going to need rehabilitation. The only thing I know is that she had isolated her family. She did this before the medication.

In March of 2005 she did something to me so dastardly that I did not speak to her about anything but work-related topics for an entire year. I have no use for people like that. I may have had to share an office with her, but I sure as hell didn't have to acknowledge that she even existed outside of that office. I am the strong and silent type. She needs people and communication. You could say she went a little crazy. She would leave the office for hours at a time, roaming the halls looking for somebody anybody that would listen to her chat away. I was relieved. Somebody else was enduring her endless stories and diarrhea of the mouth.

She had created a life where she was in her own little world. If you didn't share her beliefs she shunned you. This is how she ended up so alone and with no support. She has bemoaned to me the fact that her daughter does not even call to see how she is doing.

Her pain began two years ago. Shortly after I stopped speaking to her. After about 12 months, I felt sorry enough for her to listen to her go on and on about her problems. She told anybody and everybody that would listen. She bragged about her pain meds. People began talking behind her back, calling her "whack-o". I saw her falling asleep at her desk. I saw how many times she left the office to pick up her meds, go to the chiropractor, go to the physical therapist, go home and sleep. She abused her work time because my managers (in our home office)never check up on us. Not on a regular basis, anyway.

I had a previous co-worker that abused the time at work, and when I mentioned it to the managers at our home office nothing happened. He was in fact, given a huge raise. I believe that I was marked as the "squealer". So, this time I figured "To hell with all of you. I am going to sit here and do my work and keep to myself." Nobody at the home office ever caught on. If they did, they never said anything to me. Nobody asked me how things were going. My co-worker was left unbridled for over two years.

Old sayings kept going through my head. "Give them enough rope and they will hang themselves". I am a wise person. Sometimes I forget and make mistakes, but for the most part I know what is coming down the pike. This will sound cold hearted, but maybe some people actually do get what they deserve. A lot of times in my life, I didn't get to see it firsthand. Just desserts, come-uppance, coup-de-grace. Whatever you want to call it. Although I know it is not healthy or proper to relish in somebody else's discomfort, I am a human being and I had about as much of her crap as any one person could take. I have sympathy for her ex-husband and can understand why he walked out.

Atypical

Before the wild hair change

We went to the family doctor and spoke with her about my daughter getting more moles excised. The doctor looked at them and agreed that they need to come out. She did agree with the dermatologist that perhaps we need to look into seeing a plastic surgeon for the job, now. Our dermatologist does not do anything fancy, she is trying to save lives.

Dysplastic nevus. Atypical. My daughter and I were wondering just how many more moles have to be removed. I read today that usually the patient has 100 or more on their body. Groan. Has hers just started? Nobody knows for sure. Another article stated that a person with dyplastic nevi has a higher risk of getting other kinds of cancer. There are certain chemicals still on the market today that can cause cancer and to stay away from them. No list was given.

Maybe there is no scientific evidence. But with the way we have been mislead before in areas were greed are concerned, it will not surprise me in the least if our products are killing us.

Weird and random

Peruby is distorted

Tabor tagged me for a Meme.

The Rules are as follows:

* Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

* Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.

Well, here goes:

1. When I look at a digital clock, I have to add the numbers together. For example, if it is 4:21, in my head I say "7". If the end result is "7", I consider it a sign of good luck. I am almost out of this stage because I am not by nature a superstitious person. It is hell in the middle of the night.

2. I speak baby-talk to all my animals. They respond very well to it.


3. I am extremely inept at housecleaning.


4. I hate marshmallow, but will eat it if covered with enough chocolate. :)


5. I am a tough sell.


6. I stayed in a house overnight where the temperature dipped to 8 degrees Fahrenheit.


7. I will inadvertently burst into song. My daughter hates this.

I must think about whether or not I am going to tag anyone, myself.

My family had a holiday get together last evening. Sixteen of us showed and there are at least 14 more of the immediate family that could have shown up. We were loud. They put us into a back banquet room. We laughed. We drank (very little) and we ate.

Today we are cleaning the living room to make room for the tree. I also fixed up two batches of cookie dough for baking later. I like to refrigerate the dough for a bit before baking. It makes it easier to work with. Christmas music is playing throughout the house. Even my daughter is tapping her toes.

I will have visitors over the Christmas break. This makes me happy. Well, I think I will have my sister. She will find out on the 11th if she gets to come home for the holiday. I don't have to worry about her imbibing because she will be wearing one of these.

I did some shopping on-line this morning. I have made quite a bit of progress. This is surprising for me this early into the month. Yesterday, on the radio, I heard the announcer say "And if you are out and about doing some last minute shopping...." Last minute? It was the 8th of December for crying out loud. Some folks don't even start shopping by that date.

If my recent order is complete and arrives on time, then this pretty much wraps it up for me. This is also dangerous because I happen to be the kind of person who will keep on buying gifts even though I am "done." I just like to give gifts. If I see something I think somebody will like, I will pick it up. It is like a fever. Everyone else in the stores are buying, I want to join in. If I can stay out of the stores, I might be okay. This is going to be hard.

I do have to get my hair done. Color and cut. I might go to a new place that is not in the mall. This way, I won't be tempted to venture out to the other stores. Hmmm.

Toweling Mr. Tibbs

Mr. Tibbs in my towel drawer

Fresh out of the dryer, folded, soft and still warm. Mr. Tibbs decides this is his little piece of heaven. Last week, I had to take all the towels out and let Titten and Mr. Tibbs play in the drawer. Titten would crawl into it, and Mr. Tibbs would jump up on the drawer from the floor and push it closed, shutting Titten in. Titten didn't mind. She continued to play with the super ball that was left in there. These two are easily amused.

I've spent the last few evenings at my brother's house adding RAM to his PC and trying to get his Word Perfect working. It just quit. It displays the splash screen, and will run in Safe mode, but in Normal mode - nothing. I have un-installed and re-installed. I have tried adding the updates for Word Perfect from the Internet. The first update went without a hitch, but the other two wouldn't load. The PC only had 256MB RAM, and the downloads were moving slow, this is why I put in 1 Gig of RAM today. Word Perfect still won't work. It came in a Corel package with Quatro Pro. QP works like a charm.

I gave them a temporary fix for now (word pad), but I have some research to do on the Internet to try and figure out what the heck is going on.

Orange on pink

Titten in the tub

I don't care for my pink fixtures in my upstairs bathroom. Someday, I'll replace them. Since we shower downstairs, the tub has become a sort of play place for the new kittens. Give them a half dozen super balls and they are entertained for hours. Except at night. They make such a racket, we have to close the door (once we make sure they aren't in there).

We had a snow day today. I baked cookies, played Christmas music and cleaned up a bit. During my cleaning I found my 4 gig Sony micro vault. Yay!

Last but not least, I shoveled snow. Ugh.

Two cats on a bed

Mr. Tibbs and Titten with red ribbon

Tis the Season. Red shiny ribbons and receipts. Cats are curious and playful. Well, the newer kittens are. My older cats are grumpy, and very sedate.

Spinning

My life is kind of spinning right now. I can't believe when I log onto blogger, that it has been days since I posted. Life can be this way at times, and I guess it's my turn. Crazy, crazy days!