aly and i made pipe foxes. or rather, i finished mine and aly started to covet it, so i made her a chibi pipe fox with my leftover fur.


here be the instructions.

Since it is Election Day in West Virginia, I went to cast my vote. Voting here is done at the Catholic church and when I got there I was bowled over by the number of cars in the parking lot! But then I realized that most of them were actually there for a funeral. So I went in and only had to wait a few minutes before voting.

Then I took Mom to get fitted for her new compression hose. She got a new pair recently but said they were too small and she couldn't get them on. We had to wait about 40 minutes or so before the lady who does that sort of thing got to us. The hose she had were the right size, so we ended up getting a special applicator that, I hope, will make it easier for Mom to put them on.

I took Mom home and went to get my hair cut. On my way to the barbershop I saw that Rollins Market (an out of the way convenience store) had gas for $3.89, as opposed to the going rate of $3.94-$3.99 at most other places, so I filled the car up.

The barbershop was fairly crowded, so I had another long wait, but I finally got shorn, and in this heat it feels good! (It's quite a change from yesterday's cold, rainy weather.)

Then I picked got Mom's Actos presciption refilled.

Now I just want to relax for a few hours.....

I remember a while back that florahart posted an exchange with someone who IMed her and asked her to write a fic out of the blue. And I read Fandom Wank every now and again, and I can Google with the best of them, plus I have a really good memory for names, so I saw this crazy coming even before I responded.

What can I say? I needed a laugh.

( What's in it for me? )

It's all very "Fuck you, clown!" no?

Linden Lab's hiring procedure sucks dead rat through a straw.

Actually... most companies' do. How silly of me to think that anybody is obliged to communicate with you when they ask you for something and leave you hanging!

[points at icon] See, Shay knows how to communicate.

This isn't my story, but it might as well be. Please pass it on. Having people around those of us with chronic pain that understand, or at least are willing to try, is what makes it livable.

I did one of those bitter, ironic half-laugh, half-sobs when I read it it. Too close to my reality.

Health is really bad. Lots of things going on that we don't have answers for yet (though it doesn't help when the f*ing doctors LOSE your lab samples) and lots of pain, more by the day.

I don't know what the next diagnosis will be.

I went through 4 days of gross hematuria at the end of March and then 30 days later for nearly 14 days.

I had an IVP done (kidney dye contrast) and the only answer we got there was that I don't have any tumors.

All blood work has come back normal.

And then as I mentioned above, they lost my urine sample. Asshats.

See an urologist tomorrow.

When I had endometriosis, some of it was on my bladder, removed during both my laparoscopy and hysterectomy. The 30 days apart thing is probably a coincidence, but after a lot of research, I did find cases of women who experienced endometrial shedding through the bladder post-hysterectomy.

I'd almost rather it was tumors.

Will update when I have news. Please, pass the above link on.

Gitta & I each took a vacation day today and, since tomorrow is Election Day here, it makes for a nice 4-day weekend.

Today we got together with Deloris & Rusty and we all went down to Elkins. Our main reason for going was so the womenfolk could go to the Elkins Sewing Center and take advantage of their big sale on fat quarters.

After they shopped till they dropped, we headed for the village of Helvetia to have lunch.

We ate at The Hutte Restaurant, which is a charming place with great food. The building is actually a big house and the room we ate in had shelves of old books, an organ, old photographs, an antique telephone with a hand crank and an old-fashioned switchboard!

Lunch was excellent! I had, for starters, a Helvetia cheese plate with homemade Swiss cheese, followed by hot apple sauce, then a bratwurst sandwich (on delicious, homemade bread) with sauerkraut on the side! And the coffee was to die for!

After lunch we headed home. It would have been nice to walk around and see more of the village, but we'll do that on a nicer day. It was cold and rainy today.

For your amusement, a failed crossover not unlike the fabled X-Files/Picket Fences cross that almost happened:

Wonder Woman vs. Xena: The Princess War Diaries

Also, from the 'top THIS' files:

Mogo Does the Universe - extra points if you can keep up with all the fandoms (kaseido bait!)

Happy Birthday to hrj and sgt_majorette!

May your newest year be happy, healthy and creative.

soybeans are not known for their racial intolerance.

- thar at dinner

Yesterday didn't quite go as planned. Gitta & I were supposed to go to a picnic at the farm of her department's new director. Everyone was given a flyer with directions to the place -- well, approximately. The directions were on how to get to Tunnelton and from there it said to follow the signs to the farm that would be posted.

But we didn't see any such signs when we got there. We saw pleny of political signs and some other advertising signs, but no signs with directions to the farm. We kept going and passed outside the town limits and still came across no signs. We saw numerous little side roads (many unpaved) which undoubtely led to hollows (or hollers as they say here) where rednecks were waiting to make unwary travelers squeal like pigs.

We were puzzled, we were hungry and we didn't want to get lost and captured on top of all that, so we did the only sensible thing: we turned around, went back to Morgantown and had lunch at the Chinese buffet, where we had a pleasant surprise. We ran into our friend George "E-Gor" Chastain and his wife, who were also having lunch. It was nice to see friendly faces after our potentially traumatic journey!

After lunch we poked around next door at the Goodwill store and walked around a bit in the mall. We went to Funky Chick Chick and bought Powerball tickets, then we headed across town to the movie theater and saw Iron Man, which blew us away! This movie has it all -- action, humor, romance, special effects, good characterization, a good story and a brief cameo by Stan Lee as Hugh Hefner! What more can you ask for?

If you see the movie, be sure to stay until the end of the credits to see the little surprise they put in!

After the movie we decided to walk around the shopping plaza until it was time for dinner. We had another nice surprise when we ran into my friend Sherry (who works at a WVU library on an adjoining campus) and her husband Chris at Dollar Tree.

We had dinner at CiCi's, then headed back to Gitta's house where we watched a NASCAR race on TV. Well, Gitta watched it. I kept dozing off, in between making jokes about inbreeding. We tuned in to the Powerball drawing to discover that we had won -- nothing! Oh well, better luck next time.....

Here is the fake album cover of the week.

flush a urinal!

(hey, it's something that i'd never done before.)

• John McCain onion video
• Drinking - "My parents taught me everything I know."
• unusual recycling projects
• this is not just a cigar
• journalistic words that are never used in real life
• daily coyote video of charlie and eli
• tale of a school gone mad, and the overgroomed eyebrows that provoked them
• the story of Officer Obie, of Alice's Restaurant fame
• Coolest laptop-theft thwarting story ever

and in honor of the holiday -

• disney hates mothers
• the duggars are at it again
• best and worst moms ever

You know your husband really loves you when he helps unload three pallets (150 pieces/pallet) of Pyzique.

Our "back yard" has been waiting for a plan, since we moved into the "new" house in '04. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with it, but I know that I want planting beds that are raised up a bit, hence the Pyzique. Guess what finally went on sale? If you guessed Pyzique you're right!

I ordered three, count 'em three, pallets of the stuff, thinking that the mighty tractor could handle picking up the pallets. Nope. The tractor could not handle that much weight. We -- the driver, me and the WBH -- had to move 450 Pyzique chunks from point A to point B. Why is it that every one of our projects require moving everything at least three times? Oh, my back! Clearly, I require another glass of wine.

I. Television.

A. Numb3rs
i. I am going to miss Megan so much!
a. I wonder if Larry is going to move out east with her.
b. Figures the one female character who never put up with any of Don's crap is leaving. I mean, I know Diane Farr is pregnant again and leaving the show and really, who could blame her? But I'll miss her.
ii. I threw up in my mouth a little at the idea of Charlie and Amita getting married
iii. Colby is NOT to start dating Liz under ANY circumstance.
iv. I really, really miss the Don&Charlie interaction this season. There's been less of it in season 4 than in any of the others. I'm sure some of it is because of on-set strife, but isn't that why it's called ACTING?
v. For next season: Even less interaction? Charlie and Amita getting married? New cast member. Who?

B. Supernatural
i. It's so obvious they're short on episodes this season. I do like the episodes I've seen but there aren't enough of them and I feel like the important storylines are rushed.
ii. Dean HAS to die and go to Hell. He's going to be dead all summer and I'm going to cry. I think the reality of this is just starting to hit me. I know he's coming back because the show is going into a fourth season, but WAH!
iii. I do like Bela but I'm pretty over Ruby.
iv. In the meantime, I've signed up for spn_summergen. Because I don't have enough to do!

C. America's Next Top Model
i. Order of elimination for finale: Anya, Fatima, Whitney
ii. I still miss Lauren
iii. Tyra's megalomania is SO GRATING.

II. Books
A. Books I've read lately and liked/am liking
i. A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian
ii. All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard
iii. Adios to my Old Life by Caridad Ferrer
iv. the Sorority 101 series by Kate Harmon
v. Paper Towns by John Green
vi. This is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis
B. Books I've read lately that didn't really do it for me/are not doing it for me
i. Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne
ii. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters...but as this one goes on it's getting better.
C. Reading list for after ALA Annual
i. Black Hole by Charles Burns
ii. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
iii. Mac OSX Leopard: The Missing Manual by David Pogue
iv. Whatever else from the adult fiction section looks interesting, because I have to read adult fiction while I still can.

III. Other life things!
A. I freakin LOVE my new MacBook Pro. Lily the iBook had to go to the big hard drive in the sky, so now I have a new 15.4" MBP. I'm probably going to get a skin for it from SkinIt, because everyone and their grandmother has a MacBook and although I love my Lenore sticker, I'm going to need something a little classier if I'm going to be taking the laptop to conferences. They have skins with fleur-de-lis on them, w00t!
B. Running is going pretty well. I've decided that when I can run from my apartment to the town high school and back (3.7 miles), I get a pink 8GB iPod Nano.
C. Lots of writing and speaking engagements coming up, so yay for that. Maybe a few of them will pay.

I think I have a hockey hangover.

Man that was one INTENSE game! And it was really neat to see 97% of the people in white. There were a few Pens fan hold outs (*glances at Hubby*) and even fewer Flyers fans but the rest was solid white. The officiating sucked. Not just against the Pens, but on both sides. And I got my wish - a hockey fight towards then end (I think there was less than 2 minutes left). Our seats were even pretty good. I'll spare you the price Hubby paid for them as I think that's part of my hockey hangover.

Too tired to talk anymore. Your turn.

Fill out if you care to; repost if you care to; use a number 2 pencil only and do not fold, spindle or mutilate. Hee!

1. Do you have a tattoo?
2. How old are you?
3. Are you single or taken?
4. Fish?
5. Do you dream in color?
6. Do you have any recurring dreams?
7. How about them hipsters?
8. How did we meet?
9. What's your philosophy on life and death?
10. If you could do anything with me, what would it be?
11. What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
12. Do you like musicals?
13. What is your fondest memory of me?
14. If you could change anything about yourself what would it be?
15. If you could close your eyes and be transported anywhere in the world, where would it be?
16. What are you wearing?
17. Have you ever gone swimming after dark?
18. Have you ever sung in public?
19. If we had one day to hang out together, what would we do?
20. Which do you prefer - short or long hair?
21. What's your favorite day of the week?
22. What's your favorite color?
23. What's your favorite period in history?
24. Tell me one interesting/odd fact about you.
25. How many pets do you have right now?
26. What was your first impression of me?
27. Will you post this so I can fill it out for you?

You're feeling: Angst-ridden, as usual
To your left: Table and lamp
On your mind: Too much
Last meal included: Hot dogs
You sometimes find it hard to: Exist
The weather: Nice -- cool but not cold
Something you have a collection of: Books
A smell that cheers you up: Fresh air
A smell that can ruin your mood: Excrement
How long since you last shaved: This morning
The current state of your hair: Short and clean
The largest item on your desk/workspace (not computer): Plush Linux penguin
Your skill with chopsticks: None!
Which section do you head for first in a bookstore: Science fiction, usually
Something you're craving: Serenity
Your general thoughts on the presidential race: Anxious
How many times have you been hospitalized this year: None (Knock wood!)
Favourite place to go for a quiet moment: My den
You've always secretly thought you'd be a good: Court jester
Something that freaks you out a little: My own existence
Something you've eaten too much of lately: Peanut butter
You have never: Stuck a 15-inch needle in my eye
You never want to: Stick a 15-inch needle in my eye
Where is your cell phone? I don't have one!
Your significant other? Gitta!
Your hair? Thinning.
Your mother? Kindly
Your father? Dead
Your favorite thing? Material objects, I assume? Probably one of my plush Cthulhus.
Your dream last night? I don't remember.
Your favorite drink? Coffee or Sierra Mist -- depending on whether I am craving hot or cold.
Your dream/goal? Happiness.
The room you're in? Living room.
Your ex? Which ex?
Your fear? Losing loved ones
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Living in a mansion! ;-)
Where were you last night? Home
What you're not? A ring-tailed lemur
Muffins? Yummy!
One of your wish list items? Only one item? Pshaw! Here is my entire wish list!
Where you grew up? Bridgeport, West Virginia
The last thing you did? IM'd with Gitta.
What are you wearing? Camouflage lounge pants, white t-shirt
Your TV? off
Your pets? Kelli & Nikki (cats), Gizmo (dog)
Your computer? Dell
Your life? It is what it is.
Your mood? So-so
Missing someone? Several people
Your car? Honda Fit
Something you're not wearing? Push-up bra
Favorite Store? Target
Your summer? Approaching
Like someone? Of course!
Your favorite color? Orange
When is the last time you laughed? Today
Last time you cried? I don't remember