And The Good News Is...

No surgery.... hopefully not ever. Orthopedic surgeons have joined the trend so it seems. They are taking a much more conservative take on doing back surgery. The up shot is that there will be more drugs....  (always gotta love that) but only during flair-ups with my back. There will be less invasive stuff like MRIs, which frankly, would result in really screwy images since my Harrington rod happens to be steel (stainless though it may be). So no surgery... and I just have to live with it.... (my back that is) and lose weight... (like that thought hasn't crossed my mind a few times!)

That's the end of the good news.... the rest is just usual stuff...... which I might add, really will help you sleep if you are having problems...

I've been knitting... lots.... with all those power outages.  KNITTING  REQUIRES NO POWER. I just love that. I have the scarf done except it needs some trim work finished and a good wash.... I also have one shawl just about finished and a long way to seeing a second one finished. One shawl is for the Art show that the NPSW will be having one year from now, and the other is for a Christmas gift..... yes one of you lucky family members will be receiving something hand made by moi.... and I'm not saying who! Nah nah na boo boo! I am also working on a pair of socks... and they are also for a family member for Christmas..... and I'm also not saying who..... hee hee hee hee hee.  Some pictures on ongoing works will be presented here soon. 

Today is gray..... it feels like the cusp of winter.... though not really cold but dark like winter is looming. I feel like Jack Frost is hiding somewhere very close by. It's rather eery actually. Like something dark and foreboding is nigh. I really hate that.  Don't you hate that?

Recently my mind has been turning to the world at large.... now that's weird eh?! I've had my mind on those Chilean miners..... the People living near the Danube River and their problems..... the flood victims of Bella Bella, and Newfoundland..... hmmm, wouldn't it be nice if the world would just settle down....  and stay calm for a while. My Auntie sent me some pictures from the town where I was born after hurricane Igor hit..... it's awful.

I'm thankful it's not me.... but I really wish that these horrors wouldn't befall others..... say a prayer for those miners.... imagine having to get into such a small space as an 19 inch tube that you can't get out of for about an hour in order to see the light of day..... yeah.... I can't even go there mentally.... it would just make me... well, mental actually..... my prayers are with them for sure....

Anyway, since it's a gray day and I have bored the pants off you, I will head off to a neighbour's garage sale with the daughters..... to purchase other people's junk that will, to quote my level 4 instructor, "Just end up in the land fill anyway!".... Oh well, I have to do my part to keep it out of the land fill, at least for a while!... : )

By the way, this makes good reading if you want to go to sleep at night..... ; }

A True Day Of Thanks

For the last few days it has been dreadfully windy here. Trees have been falling down around us at a rate which I have never seen before... we lost at least eight yesterday and down through the forest that borders our land, they were popping like fireworks for two days.  It is still sunny and has been all through these windy days, it's warm too, we just have to endure the wind from hell!  Saturday we lost our power and Teapot was making bread in the bread maker. So we trotted the bread off to the school to be baked since the school had power and we didn't..... I might have mentioned that. Anyway, just as Teapot was putting the bread in the oven at school the power came on and so we took the bread to the parents house and baked it there, since their house was closer to the school than ours. Yesterday the same thing happened. Just as I was putting bread in the pans (we usually stock up on the bread making for a week of school lunches when the weekend rolls around) out went the lights again. No power? No bread. No toilet flushing. No water. No TV. No computer.  No anything. So I called the parents once again in an effort to see if their power was affected too. Yes indeedy. The whole town was powerless except for one small section where the hotel was.

Mother was at church when the power went off and the organ died, which she happens to play. The organ went off, and the stand-in minister who just happens to be the fire chief got called away. The youth group who were making muffins for the seniors couldn't finish baking them and all was a fiasco. They canceled the rest of church and everyone headed home. It was then that mother had to make a detour because a tree had blown down across some electrical wires and the wires had broken. There were lives electrical wires on the ground and a grass fire in someone's yard which was directly in her path to her house. Because of that, we knew the power was done for good this time.... at least for a good long time.

Meanwhile, back at home, the bread was rising nicely in the pans and was just about ready to go in the oven.... oh yeah.... no oven. What to do? Teapot came to the rescue and fired up the barbecue. Yes we have barbecued bread.... and it worked like a charm..... the bread is awesome.... very evenly baked and just about the most perfect bread you could ever have. The parents arrived in short order for a lunch of tea on the Coleman stove, and fresh baked Barbecued bread with some cheese on the side. Perfect!

The day wore on and the parents went home with the hopes that the power would be back on by evening. I was knitting, Teapot was working on the steps to the veranda, Daughter #2 was off to her friend's house, and Daughter #1 was reading in her room. The wind blew, and the trees kept falling, and still the power did not come on. Thank heavens we had planned our Turkey dinner for Monday (something else for which I'm thankful). Around about 5 p.m. Pops called to say that he had been talking to the fire chief/minister. The power would be off for a few hours yet. I had taken chicken wings out in the morning (before the power went off) and so I whipped up a caserole of honey garlic chicken wings, once again, baked on the barbecue. I also cooked some oven roast potatoes which we had for dinner and out to our house came the parents once again. So all in all we saved the day, cooking-wise at least. The parents left for home around 8 p.m. in the dark and cold. Our evening was like something out of the 1800s since we had a lantern burning in the living room and no heat.... but you know, that lantern kept the living room quite warm!  It wasn't cold out so that helped and it is still getting up to +11 degrees in the day. I think we were all grateful for a day that turned out better than ever could have been expected.

At least it wasn't -42 degrees like the great power outage of 2009 when we lost the power for several hours and the water pump froze. At least this time it was actually pleasant. And still I wait for that lovely little wood stove that I have been coveting for so long.... (something like 8 years now)!

All's well that ends well.... the power came on about 9 p.m. last night. We had 10 hours without power and it makes me think once again that we may need to get a source of heat in this house that doesn't involve electricity.

And so that brings me to this..... Turkey today and just one more thing to be thankful for...... power, heat, and a good mind to figure out how to bake bread on the barbecue, and a family who are easy going enough to come together in the dark for mutual help.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all..... isn't it good to be alive?! Really gives meaning to the words... Thanks be to God...

Thanks Giving

Here's a list of things I'm thankful for.....

1. Two hands with which I can knit, spin, and weave.

2. Eyes that are clear and can see the beauty around me.

3. Ears from which I can hear my children's laughter.

4. Two arms that can wrap around my husband and hold him close to me, especially at night.

5. Commiseration... so that I can take in stray animals and fall in love with them.

6. A home that has a place for me even when I''m lazy and don't deserve it.

7. Pooches that love me just because...... I can tell they like me because they follow me everywhere, even to the bathroom.

8. Feet that I can cover with socks.... or not.... which can carry me even if it is only up the stairs or around the house.

9. Parents who come to visit and remind me every day how life is short and you should enjoy it while you can.

10. Friends... what would life be without them?

11. Turkey.... for days and days and days.....

12. The ability to open the fridge and stare and say I don't know what  to eat today.

13. Sunshine..... it fills you up with hope.

14. All of you folks, who take the time to read my ramblings.

15. Life... it's God given.... and a real joy.

What are you thankful for?

More Random Thoughts... This Time On Saturday Afternoon

It's a lovely day.... though very windy. Mother and Pops were here for lunch because the wind was so strong that it blew down trees that knocked out the power. They came because we have a barbeque and they don't. We had slides for lunch... (mini burgers for those of you who don't know what slides are). Teapot took the bread that was in the pans ready to be baked to the school to since the power is not off at the school and they have tons of stoves in the Foods room. The bread smelled lovely in the truck on the way home. Finally the power came back on about 20 minutes ago. All's well that ends well... at least it wasn't -42 degrees outside like the last time we lost the power. Oh for a wood stove.

Have been knitting all day. I started on a Karaoke (that's a yarn with a mix of Soy silk and Merino wool) scarf instead of the Bison/Cashmere/Silk/Merino scarf. I was planing on doing a bias knit scarf with it but I loved it so much and with large needles I think I have enough for a shawl, so when it came time to turn the triangle.... well, I just didn't. Hope I don't run out of that Karaoke though. It is very luscious to touch.

Why is it that I finish a post and check for spelling/grammatical mistakes and then publish something and as soon as I publish it and everyone in the world can see it, that's when I see glaring mistakes that I missed when I was checking it over. Argh!

Teapot is finishing putting in the front steps on the veranda. Yahoo. I'm so glad to see that job done. Must go and do some walking. Oh my aching back....!!!!

What a pleasant, lovely afternoon.... hope the tin on the roof doesn't blow off in this wind.  Sure is blustery.... who knew it would be so windy when that sun came over the horizon this morning.

Random Thoughts On A Saturday Morning

Sun's up. Just came over the horizon. It does the heart good to feel the sun on my face. Sun kissed. (Not quite... aren't you supposed to have a tan when you are sun kissed?) family starting to move around.

Teapot brought home nacho chips yesterday evening. Friday night at the movies. The Mummy was playing here..... it's quite gory when you think bout it but we all loved it. Jamieboy dropped by for a beer with Teapot. I wanted one. Too bad I'm allergic to alcohol. Still the chips were yummy with cheese oozing over them with onion, yellow and red pepper and black olives. Salsa on the side.

New neighbour. Moved in over the last few weeks. Finally the family showed up. Have horses. Dreamer is talking to their horses all the time even though she can't see them. They live two houses away which is pretty far for a subdivision where all the acreages are between 6 and 8 acres. Gives new meaning to neighbour.

Wee kitty (we never call her Whisper, we just got too used to calling her Wee kitty) is playing with Midnite's tail. He look extremely pi---d off. Teapot in the kitchen making toast and bacon for breakfast. Yum.... very smelly..... good smelly... yum smelly. Kitty is running back and forth like mad.... wonder if bacon smells makes him crazy!

Finished knitting the scarf last night but must look for finishing techniques and have to block it before I show it here. Shall start another as I wait for the Bison and Camel down that I ordered from the states. $105.00 for less than 100gms of fibre. Ouch! Perhaps I will start my woven scarf with the awesome Bison/Cashmere/Silk/Merino yarn that I finished spinning last week. My knock out knitters are going to show me how to crochet woven block together decoratively. Mother never showed me how to crochet. Am learning that from others.

Jiggs is now doing her patrol of the wee kitty's domain (which seems to be here in the sun room). I think Wee Kitty likes to egg her on.

That sun is behind a cloud now and though it is easier on the eyes I miss the brightness of early morning sun.

Walked Thursday almost a kilometre... yesterday my back was complaining so decided not to walk then. Will try again today as back is a little better today. Far cry from my 3 km walking I used to do. will take a while to restrengthen my back and legs after five weeks off my feet except to go upstairs and downstairs. My whole body groans in agony just thinking of trying to get back into shape.

21 degrees yesterday. Lovely soft day. Hope today is just as nice. Thanks heavens there's an end to all that rain we had during the first part of September.... grass is greener than it was all summer. Odd.

Bacon's done so is toast and tea.... think I'll listen to CBC radio....

Bye bye....

S--ks

Once upon a time a man named Teapot went to his wife and said, "I have no socks. I don't know where all my socks are going but they seem to be disappearing."

The good wife said, "Well dear, Daughter #2 is supposed to be folding laundry and putting it away so perhaps if you ask her where the socks are then she might tell you."

But Daughter #2 said she was folding socks and putting them away as they were washed.

This now meant that there was a mystery afoot. Socks were disappearing at an alarming rate.

The good wife pulled open the washer and looked inside. Then she looked under the bed to see if the socks were hiding under there. Finally she looked in all the sock drawers in the house and couldn't find them anywhere. She scratched her head in consternation and wondered where on earth the socks had disappeared. That's when Daughter #1 came to her and said that all she had in her sock drawer for the last few weeks were odd socks and then only one set (I can't call them a pair since odd socks do not constitute a pair). The poor good wife was feeling very bad that the socks had seemed to disappear and was thinking that everyone blamed her because she had been threatening to burn all socks left in the front porch, or the living room, or the front deck. (Why socks got left on the front deck was beyond her). For days she ruminated over this problem and finally she decided to look in the pile of clothes inhabiting Daughter #2's bedroom floor. It was a terrifically scary job, but she (literally) waded into the it fearlessly (well maybe not fearlessly). After losing herself in the terrible pile of clothes on the floor several times, there were still no leads on the missing socks.

The good wife sat down in consternation and ruminated some more on the problem. Perhaps there was a sock bandit in the house and the socks were being stolen. But then the good wife thought this was totally ridiculous since, who in their right mind would steal used socks. Days went by, and the complaints got complainier as Teapot went out and purchased himself some new socks and Daughter #1 complained that she had been wearing the same socks for weeks. (Peeew!)

It was then that the good wife noticed that Daughter #2 was strangely silent about having no socks. After everyone had departed for school, the good wife stealthily crept into Daughter #2's bedroom, she opened Daughter #2's drawer, and there were, you guessed it, no socks. Deflated, the good wife was just about to leave the bedroom when she decided to open the wardrobe door. Two months worth of clean socks were on the floor of the wardrobe along with placemats and dishtowels and a bunch of unmentionables... all the hot water washing for the last month. The good wife closed the door and quietly left the room.

In anxt, the good wife began to think that perhaps her Daughter #2 might be becoming a strange kleptomaniac. Perhaps she liked to steal the hot water washing because the good wife as a mother might be not such a good mother..... then the good wife's parents arrived and she admitted all her fears to them.

It really was the best idea to inform her parents of her fears because, as good parents who have lived through teenage years before, they were able to set the good wife's mind at ease. "The hot water wash is on the floor of her wardrobe because she doesn't want to match and fold all those finicky socks," they exclaimed.

The good wife sat there with a light bulb turned on.

All day she planned.

Finally, the Daughters arrived via the school bus promptly after school. The good wife waited until Daughter #2 was quietly sitting on her bed reading a delightful library book and then she walked into her room. She asked her Daughter (the sneaky sock avoider) how her day had gone, and while her Daughter #2 was telling her all the things that happened at school the good wife opened the door of the wardrobe and kicked the clean hot water wash out onto the floor in one fell swoop!

Daughter #2 turned red and the good wife threatened to make her wash floors on her hands and knees every day for the next month if ever she stock piled laundered socks or anything else at all again.  The good wife will be doing a wardrobe check each Wednesday. And Teapot and the Daughter #1 are happy with happy feet.

I always hated s--ks and now I know why! I've passed on my s--k hate to Daughter #2... waaaaahhhh!

Going Bald (cont.)

Going bald might not be so bad since I now, in my rush to prepare for the trip to FSJ, have a cow lick supreme..... I think it might be time to find the scissors!