National Blog Posting Month starts this Sunday. I signed up last year and did manage to post every single day in November.
This coming November looks to be a little bit busier than last year. Thanksgiving dinner is being held at my house for the first (and, if I go completely mental over it, maybe the last) time. There's a bit to do to get ready -- stuff I kept putting off all summer, knowing that I really needed to do it and also knowing that I need a deadline breathing down my neck before I can kick into high gear. I'm already feeling a slight twitch around the eyelid when I think of all the stress to come. So I probably shouldn't be wasting my time trying to post every day in November.
I just signed up to do it, though. What's that old saw? You want something done, give it to a busy person (*Juvenile snicker* I almost typed "busty person." I crack me up. It's not very difficult to do, as you can see).
So anyway, come! Watch me lose my mind in November. It should be fun. Or informative. Or something.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
High as a kite
...the cat, not me.
I'm beginning to notice a trend. Every time I take vacation, the cat winds up at the vet. Yesterday afternoon, I was watching TV in the living room, and she came downstairs to get a drink of water. I noticed as she was going back up the stairs that she was only using three feet.
Uh-oh.
I chased after her, retrieved her from under the bed (another uh-oh. Why is she hiding?) and made her walk for me. She wouldn't let the back foot even touch the floor.
And so, it looked like we were off to the vet's. I called and managed to get the very last time slot available on a Friday afternoon. It wasn't the vet we usually see, but I didn't really care. This woman felt all over both Lolly's back feet, massaging and stretching and probing with her fingers to see if there was one particular spot that hurt worse than the rest. Lolly didn't cry out or flinch or anything, just showed a general desire to get away. Then the vet checked her back. Nothing wrong there either. There was a little bit of swelling with the boo-boo back foot, but that seems consistent with her diagnosis: she thinks the cat has sprained the flexor muscles in her right back foot. She thinks Lolly probably jumped off of something and landed wrong.
The vet gave me some pain killers to give the cat, (in liquid form. Hurray, now there are two syringes to keep track of!), and if things don't improve I'm to bring her back for an x-ray on Monday.
Things are improving. She's putting some weight on it now, though she's still limping. When she walks at all. This stuff works like morphine, the vet said. The cat spends a lot of time either asleep or looking stoned. Seriously. She sat here on the sofa for the better part of the evening with pupils as big as saucers, limp as Frieda's cat (from Peanuts). That was just after I gave her the meds. She's more alert and active right now. She just walked past me as I typed this, and the limping is much less pronounced than it was earlier in the evening. Partly pain meds, partly healing, I hope.
Silver lining, though -- my usual vet had said something about trying to make the cat gain some weight. It's hard to do. She'll only eat as much as she wants and then leave the rest. We're making some progress, though. She was 7.5 lbs last visit. Yesterday she was 8.3. Huzzah!
I'm beginning to notice a trend. Every time I take vacation, the cat winds up at the vet. Yesterday afternoon, I was watching TV in the living room, and she came downstairs to get a drink of water. I noticed as she was going back up the stairs that she was only using three feet.
Uh-oh.
I chased after her, retrieved her from under the bed (another uh-oh. Why is she hiding?) and made her walk for me. She wouldn't let the back foot even touch the floor.
And so, it looked like we were off to the vet's. I called and managed to get the very last time slot available on a Friday afternoon. It wasn't the vet we usually see, but I didn't really care. This woman felt all over both Lolly's back feet, massaging and stretching and probing with her fingers to see if there was one particular spot that hurt worse than the rest. Lolly didn't cry out or flinch or anything, just showed a general desire to get away. Then the vet checked her back. Nothing wrong there either. There was a little bit of swelling with the boo-boo back foot, but that seems consistent with her diagnosis: she thinks the cat has sprained the flexor muscles in her right back foot. She thinks Lolly probably jumped off of something and landed wrong.
The vet gave me some pain killers to give the cat, (in liquid form. Hurray, now there are two syringes to keep track of!), and if things don't improve I'm to bring her back for an x-ray on Monday.
Things are improving. She's putting some weight on it now, though she's still limping. When she walks at all. This stuff works like morphine, the vet said. The cat spends a lot of time either asleep or looking stoned. Seriously. She sat here on the sofa for the better part of the evening with pupils as big as saucers, limp as Frieda's cat (from Peanuts). That was just after I gave her the meds. She's more alert and active right now. She just walked past me as I typed this, and the limping is much less pronounced than it was earlier in the evening. Partly pain meds, partly healing, I hope.
Silver lining, though -- my usual vet had said something about trying to make the cat gain some weight. It's hard to do. She'll only eat as much as she wants and then leave the rest. We're making some progress, though. She was 7.5 lbs last visit. Yesterday she was 8.3. Huzzah!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Walk it out
I've started to use Brizzly to keep track of my Twitter feed. It's still in beta test mode, which means I had to be invited to join. I'm hoping they get out of beta soon. I like it lots, and I think other people will, too. It does things I wish Twitter did, like expanding the links someone sends me, or if the links are to photos inserting the photo along with the tweet. It refreshes automatically. It tells me which of the people I follow are also following me. I am not limited to the last 20 tweets on a screen.
I know this is all blahblahblah to people who don't use Twitter, but if you do and you want to try Brizzly, I have nine invitations left to join it. Gimme a holler in the comments box & I'll send you one.
Today, though, it's been up and down a lot -- Twitter's having issues with client feeds, or something (I know, I'm hot when I talk tech. If I knew what I was saying, I'd be even hotter, right?). Here's the notice they put up, accompanied by this hilarious (to me, anyway) link to a YouTube video:
Whoever came up with dubbing a Fosse routine to hip-hop? Genius.
And now, since the sun's out and I'm on vacation (woo!) I'm gonna take Brizzly's advice and step awaaaaay from the computer for the rest of the day. Well, afternoon. Well, couple of hours.
I know this is all blahblahblah to people who don't use Twitter, but if you do and you want to try Brizzly, I have nine invitations left to join it. Gimme a holler in the comments box & I'll send you one.
Today, though, it's been up and down a lot -- Twitter's having issues with client feeds, or something (I know, I'm hot when I talk tech. If I knew what I was saying, I'd be even hotter, right?). Here's the notice they put up, accompanied by this hilarious (to me, anyway) link to a YouTube video:
Twitter's having trouble serving their tweets to other clients. So Brizzly may be temporarily unavailable. We'll be back when they're back. Maybe this is a nice time to stretch one's legs?
Whoever came up with dubbing a Fosse routine to hip-hop? Genius.
And now, since the sun's out and I'm on vacation (woo!) I'm gonna take Brizzly's advice and step awaaaaay from the computer for the rest of the day. Well, afternoon. Well, couple of hours.
Pomplamoose
Enough of the heavy medical-type stuff for now.
A few weeks ago, this YouTube video was all over the internet. It got me interested in the two musicians who put it together, and I've gone back to their site a few times to see what else they're doing.
They call themselves Pomplamoose. In their recordings, they play or sing all the parts, then mix everything together. It looks like their studio is somewhere in their house (in San Francisco). They've done a bunch of covers (like the one of Beyonce's song cited above), but they write and record their own songs as well.
Of the covers, this one's my favorite so far:
And of their own music, this is my favorite:
Hurray for fun, creative people!
A few weeks ago, this YouTube video was all over the internet. It got me interested in the two musicians who put it together, and I've gone back to their site a few times to see what else they're doing.
They call themselves Pomplamoose. In their recordings, they play or sing all the parts, then mix everything together. It looks like their studio is somewhere in their house (in San Francisco). They've done a bunch of covers (like the one of Beyonce's song cited above), but they write and record their own songs as well.
Of the covers, this one's my favorite so far:
And of their own music, this is my favorite:
Hurray for fun, creative people!
Time for a change
Editorial note: Wrote this 2 weeks ago. Forgot to hit "publish"
So, it's October. It's time for me to go get meds for my allergies.
Last time I went, my doctor did something that really bothered me. It started after she'd given me a sample of Nasonex to try along with prescriptions for the drug I needed for my bronchitis and the Allegra and the inhaler I normally get. Nasonex is a topical medication that you apply to your nose, it's supposed to suppress allergies. Worked wonderfully. My breathing was great.
Sleep, however, was another story. I was getting maybe 2 hours' sleep a night, if any. It took me a while to figure it out, and only then because I forgot to take the Nasonex one Friday morning. That night I slept like I'd been drugged. Did the same on Saturday night, too. Sunday morning I finally remembered to take the Nasonex, and ta-dah! Insomnia.
Not only that, but my heart would race every once in a while. Like it was trying to leap out of my chest. That's fun in the middle of a team meeting, huh?
When I went back to my doctor for a follow-up a couple weeks later, I told her about the side-effect, and she waved it off.
"That's not the Nasonex. That's the Allegra."
Really? The Allegra I've been taking for ten years with no problem?
And then at the end of the appointment, she tells me she's prescribing the Nasonex, along with a year-long prescription for a 24-hour version of Allegra.
"I just told you I'm not taking that Nasonex." I said. She looked up, surprised. Like the furniture had just spoken. I described what happened again, and told her the bit about forgetting to take it for a couple of days and finally getting some sleep.
"That's weird," is all she had to say. And wrote the Nasonex scrip anyway, on the same piece of paper as the Allegra-24. I left her office feeling angry and disrespected. Granted, I'm no doctor, but I'm in this body 24/7, and I'm not a total moron. I think I might have some insight into what's going on with me.
Luckily the pharmacy I went to only fills what you ask them to. I never filled the Nasonex. And I vowed that I was never ever going back to that woman under any circumstances.
I ran out of refills on my prescriptions last November. I'd managed to stockpile a little by buying a refill every month whether I needed it or not, so I didn't have to go back to her. The medication in the last bottle expired last month. Time to find a new doctor.
A coworker recommended someone her Dad had seen for a physical. I think his own doctor was on vacation or something and this other fellow was part of the same group, filling in where necessary. She said he listened to her Dad, didn't run a million tests, and just seemed on the whole more laid-back and personable. So I did a little research.
Turns out he's a D.O., not an M.D. I've never been to an osteopath before. Wasn't even sure what an osteopath does, so I looked it up. Here's what Wikipedia said:
So, it's October. It's time for me to go get meds for my allergies.
Last time I went, my doctor did something that really bothered me. It started after she'd given me a sample of Nasonex to try along with prescriptions for the drug I needed for my bronchitis and the Allegra and the inhaler I normally get. Nasonex is a topical medication that you apply to your nose, it's supposed to suppress allergies. Worked wonderfully. My breathing was great.
Sleep, however, was another story. I was getting maybe 2 hours' sleep a night, if any. It took me a while to figure it out, and only then because I forgot to take the Nasonex one Friday morning. That night I slept like I'd been drugged. Did the same on Saturday night, too. Sunday morning I finally remembered to take the Nasonex, and ta-dah! Insomnia.
Not only that, but my heart would race every once in a while. Like it was trying to leap out of my chest. That's fun in the middle of a team meeting, huh?
When I went back to my doctor for a follow-up a couple weeks later, I told her about the side-effect, and she waved it off.
"That's not the Nasonex. That's the Allegra."
Really? The Allegra I've been taking for ten years with no problem?
And then at the end of the appointment, she tells me she's prescribing the Nasonex, along with a year-long prescription for a 24-hour version of Allegra.
"I just told you I'm not taking that Nasonex." I said. She looked up, surprised. Like the furniture had just spoken. I described what happened again, and told her the bit about forgetting to take it for a couple of days and finally getting some sleep.
"That's weird," is all she had to say. And wrote the Nasonex scrip anyway, on the same piece of paper as the Allegra-24. I left her office feeling angry and disrespected. Granted, I'm no doctor, but I'm in this body 24/7, and I'm not a total moron. I think I might have some insight into what's going on with me.
Luckily the pharmacy I went to only fills what you ask them to. I never filled the Nasonex. And I vowed that I was never ever going back to that woman under any circumstances.
I ran out of refills on my prescriptions last November. I'd managed to stockpile a little by buying a refill every month whether I needed it or not, so I didn't have to go back to her. The medication in the last bottle expired last month. Time to find a new doctor.
A coworker recommended someone her Dad had seen for a physical. I think his own doctor was on vacation or something and this other fellow was part of the same group, filling in where necessary. She said he listened to her Dad, didn't run a million tests, and just seemed on the whole more laid-back and personable. So I did a little research.
Turns out he's a D.O., not an M.D. I've never been to an osteopath before. Wasn't even sure what an osteopath does, so I looked it up. Here's what Wikipedia said:
Osteopathy is an approach to healthcare that emphasizes the role of the musculoskeletal system in health and disease. It is practised in the United Kingdom, the rest of the European Union, Israel, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Osteopathy is not to be confused with the historically related but now distinct field, osteopathic medicine in the United States.All right. I clicked on the link to osteopathic medicine in the United States:
Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States, with some recognition outside the US (47 countries), including most Canadian provinces. Physicians or surgeons who graduate from osteopathic medical schools are sometimes known as osteopathic physicians and hold a professional doctorate, the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), in contrast to the more familiar degree, the Doctor of Medicine, or MD. The existence of two degrees leading to equivalent status as a licensed physicians is not widely known.
And later on:
Osteopathic medicine is considered by some in the United States to be both a profession and a social movement, especially for its historically greater emphasis on primary care and holistic health. However, any distinction between the MD and the DO professions has eroded steadily; diminishing numbers of DO graduates enter primary care fields, fewer use OMM, holistic patient care models are increasingly taught at MD schools, and increasing numbers of DO graduates choose to train in non-osteopathic residency programs.
Clear as mud. My aunt has been going to a D.O. instead of an M.D. for years and was happy with the woman. On the strength of that, and figuring a new point of view was probably a good thing, I called and got added to his patient list. I told the receptionist (nurse?) that I was switching doctors. She asked who I was switching from, and when I told her, she said,
"She's on the same call list as we are. That means if you're ever in the hospital, she might be the physician on call for you."
"That's okay. I doubt she'd recognize me anyway."
When I told my mom I was seeing a D.O. I got an interesting reaction. All she said was, "Oh really?" My mom's moved away from a lot of traditional medicine recently. She goes to a reflexologist on a regular basis, and I believe it does her a lot of good. She was so much healthier after a few months of treatment with this person that my Dad started going too. At one point he had a colon full of polyps, and this woman worked up an intensive treatment called a "liver cleanse" that he went through for a summer and fall. It got rid of most of them by the time his next colonoscopy came round. Impressive.
Mind you, they still use traditional medicine for things like his heart. Oh, heck yeah. Don't want to fool around with the heart. I'm with them on that one.
But I digress.
Boy am I glad I did this. He came in and sat down next to me at a table (not across from me. Side-by-side (friendly) as opposed to face-to-face (confrontational). I do the same thing when I do reference work. People accept your help more readily if you don't come barging at them from straight-ahead), and started to chat with me. Asked all sorts of questions: where I'm from, how long I've been here, what was my major in college, what do I do now, where do I live...at first I thought he was trying to put me at ease, but then I noticed he was writing down all my answers. I guess that's the "holism" thing kicking in, huh?
By the time we got to discussing what brought me here, I was a whole lot more relaxed than I'd ever been with the M.D. I told him about my allergies, and though I hedged a little bit about why I left the other doctor (I don't know why), eventually I decided to tell him that I lost confidence in my previous physician, and why. He didn't argue or agree, just nodded and kept listening while he looked up my nose and listened to my chest (at some point in the conversation I'd moved onto the exam table, but then off it and back to a chair after he'd listened to me breathe). Then he asked me to describe the worst asthma I'd ever had. I told him about this instance from a couple years ago.
He prescribed most of the same things I had been taking (not the Nasonex, thank goodness), and went to get me a sample of some asthma medication he wants me to take during October, or any time I think I'll be around something that will make things flare up (like up at my parents' cabin with the wood/coal stove). It's an inhaler with a very little bit of a steroid in it.
He came back with two boxes.
"I was going to give you this one," he holds out a box with a pink stripe across the top, "but then I remembered that they just came out with child's version that has a much lower dosage." He holds out the box in his other hand. It has a gray stripe across the top. "I was thinking that if the little bit of steroid that was in the Nasonex gave you trouble, maybe we should start you with the child's dosage and see if that works. If it doesn't, then we'll move you up to the adult's."
And the clouds parted, and the light shone down, and the angels sang. He listened to me! He heard and believed me! Hallefrickinlujah!
"It's one dose daily, and I think maybe you should take it before you go to bed, since night time is when it hits you worst."
That's true. When did I tell him that? Oh. OH! The dream. Dang, he listens with both ears!
Angels just sang another chord.
"Give me a call in a few days, tell me which one works for you and which pharmacy to call with the prescription."
And that's what I did. I'm on the child's. Didn't even open the adult's. He said to keep the sample, maybe I'll need it when I visit my parents.
It was so nice to leave a medical appointment feeling like I'd been heard.
I heart my new doctor.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Standing down now
Mom called around six o'clock. I was so proud of myself for not calling her the second I got home, and then again at fifteen minute intervals until I finally reach her, only to harangue her for not calling me the second she knew something. I let my sister do that this time.
Just kidding. I don't know that Ditter did that. Though Mom told me she got an earful when she called my sister, 'cause Mom had promised to call when the whole thing was over with.
She forgot. And she admitted now that she was probably more worried than she let on. She only really noticed the stress once it was gone. That makes me feel a little better for some odd reason, cause she was kinda laughing at me a little about how fussed I was about this.
Anyway, I digress. Dad's good. Actually, he's better than good. He has a normal sinus rhythm now. The doctor says he can expect to feel more energy, and things will only improve once he gets fitted for a C-PAP machine.
Yep. Sleep apnea. Undiagnosed for at least 25 years. Probably what's been enlarging the heart and causing the blood pressure problems. Not to mention the dark circles under my mother's eyes from having to sleep next to all the snoring and tossing and turning all this time.
When she called, Dad was sitting on the sofa, watching TV and restringing a lamp.
Oh, and the snow I was worried about, the power outages I thought they would cause? My parents got flurries. We got all the snow. This morning there were 10,000 customers without power, including me. The power company's managed to get it down to 4500 customers without electricity now. They estimate they'll have everything restored by 6 pm tomorrow.
Whew. I'm feeling a bit worn out. Full day, what with worrying about Dad, getting to work late (decided not to try to comb my hair by candlelight. One hair-flip in the wrong direction and foosh! Hair-fire. There's a headline I never want to be in), and then leaving work early anyway because I was concerned about my old, old kitty alone in an unheated house. Got home, found out the power had been on for hours already, and set about making myself not call my mother.
I'm going to bed.
But hey, guess what! I'm on vacation! For a whole week! Whee!
Just kidding. I don't know that Ditter did that. Though Mom told me she got an earful when she called my sister, 'cause Mom had promised to call when the whole thing was over with.
She forgot. And she admitted now that she was probably more worried than she let on. She only really noticed the stress once it was gone. That makes me feel a little better for some odd reason, cause she was kinda laughing at me a little about how fussed I was about this.
Anyway, I digress. Dad's good. Actually, he's better than good. He has a normal sinus rhythm now. The doctor says he can expect to feel more energy, and things will only improve once he gets fitted for a C-PAP machine.
Yep. Sleep apnea. Undiagnosed for at least 25 years. Probably what's been enlarging the heart and causing the blood pressure problems. Not to mention the dark circles under my mother's eyes from having to sleep next to all the snoring and tossing and turning all this time.
When she called, Dad was sitting on the sofa, watching TV and restringing a lamp.
Oh, and the snow I was worried about, the power outages I thought they would cause? My parents got flurries. We got all the snow. This morning there were 10,000 customers without power, including me. The power company's managed to get it down to 4500 customers without electricity now. They estimate they'll have everything restored by 6 pm tomorrow.
Whew. I'm feeling a bit worn out. Full day, what with worrying about Dad, getting to work late (decided not to try to comb my hair by candlelight. One hair-flip in the wrong direction and foosh! Hair-fire. There's a headline I never want to be in), and then leaving work early anyway because I was concerned about my old, old kitty alone in an unheated house. Got home, found out the power had been on for hours already, and set about making myself not call my mother.
I'm going to bed.
But hey, guess what! I'm on vacation! For a whole week! Whee!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Ready, Set, Worry!
My father's getting his heart reset tomorrow. The cardiologist likened it to turning off a computer, waiting a moment, and then giving it a cold reboot. It's supposed to clear up the irregular heartbeat problems Dad's having.
Wait.
What?
What?
I asked my Dad this past Sunday what exactly is supposed to happen, and here's what he told me:
He's going to be knocked out, put on a respirator, and then the cardiologist and his team will stop my father's heart, wait a moment or two, and then shock it back into starting again.
That? Scares the shit outta me.
It must, because I don't think I've ever sworn on this blog before.
It took a little time to absorb what he was saying and I missed an important detail. My mind was kinda occupied with the stopping Daddy's heart aaaaaahhhhhh part of the conversation, so I couldn't recall the bit where he told me when this was going to happen.
I called my Mom Tuesday about that. I wanted to know exactly when to worry.
She said the 16th, a little before 9 a.m. he'd be prepped and ready to go.
That's tomorrow.
And today? It's started to snow, and it's supposed to continue until sometime Saturday morning. It's a wet, heavy snow, sure to hang on the leaves that haven't detached themselves from their trees yet, which can cause aforementioned trees to come crashing to the ground, dragging power lines in their wakes.
Power they'll be using to stop and then start my Daddy's heart, and to keep him breathing throughout. This didn't occur to me until a few minutes ago. Thanks for that, brain. 'Cause I wasn't worried enough.
I sure hope the hospital has back-up generators.
Wait.
What?
What?
I asked my Dad this past Sunday what exactly is supposed to happen, and here's what he told me:
He's going to be knocked out, put on a respirator, and then the cardiologist and his team will stop my father's heart, wait a moment or two, and then shock it back into starting again.
That? Scares the shit outta me.
It must, because I don't think I've ever sworn on this blog before.
It took a little time to absorb what he was saying and I missed an important detail. My mind was kinda occupied with the stopping Daddy's heart aaaaaahhhhhh part of the conversation, so I couldn't recall the bit where he told me when this was going to happen.
I called my Mom Tuesday about that. I wanted to know exactly when to worry.
She said the 16th, a little before 9 a.m. he'd be prepped and ready to go.
That's tomorrow.
And today? It's started to snow, and it's supposed to continue until sometime Saturday morning. It's a wet, heavy snow, sure to hang on the leaves that haven't detached themselves from their trees yet, which can cause aforementioned trees to come crashing to the ground, dragging power lines in their wakes.
Power they'll be using to stop and then start my Daddy's heart, and to keep him breathing throughout. This didn't occur to me until a few minutes ago. Thanks for that, brain. 'Cause I wasn't worried enough.
I sure hope the hospital has back-up generators.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
This just tickled me
There's a real post coming, I swear. Really. Not today, though. We're in the middle of a two-day open house here in the library. I've spent the morning working at various places for it, and there will be more to do tomorrow. The brain, she is fried.
Friday, September 11, 2009
OwowfreakingOW part 2, or, I'll give you something to cry about
You know those tissues they make that have lotion in 'em for your poor ravaged nose? I bought some of those for my desk at work to keep myself from doing stupid things like a) blowing my nose on toilet tissue or paper towels; and b) applying hand cream to my face because a solid day of paper towels and toilet tissue on the face is rough, man.
Guess what, though? When you read a tweet that friends had to take their dog for an emergency visit to the vet's and the poor puppy never made it home again, and it gets you all teary-eyed? Don't wipe your eyes with the lotion tissues. Sting! Dang that hurts! My eyes are watering more, and I'm fighting the urge to use another tissue to wipe 'em.
Well, at least I'm not crying over the dog anymore.
I wonder if I can catalog blind?
Guess what, though? When you read a tweet that friends had to take their dog for an emergency visit to the vet's and the poor puppy never made it home again, and it gets you all teary-eyed? Don't wipe your eyes with the lotion tissues. Sting! Dang that hurts! My eyes are watering more, and I'm fighting the urge to use another tissue to wipe 'em.
Well, at least I'm not crying over the dog anymore.
I wonder if I can catalog blind?
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Playing with Blip
A couple weeks ago my sister got me hooked on a site called Blip that pretty much turns you into a little DJ. I can make my own play list from a huge song library (provided I can find the song I want. Their search engine can be a little imprecise), and anyone can listen to it that wants to. I can listen to other people's lists, merge them with mine on my own "personal radar," listen to what everyone's putting on their own lists on the public feed, or just listen to my own.
I just yesterday found another Jonathan Coulton song I like, and I submit it here for your enjoyment:
Jonathan Coulton - Ikea
Shared via AddThis
I just yesterday found another Jonathan Coulton song I like, and I submit it here for your enjoyment:
Jonathan Coulton - Ikea
Shared via AddThis
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
OwowfreakingOW
Hey, guess what! When you've been sneezing all morning and blowing your nose on paper products that weren't originally intended for noses and it makes that particular facial area all red and sore? Do not, I repeat do not try to cool and soothe the area with hand cream. Particularly black raspberry vanilla body cream from Bath & Bodyworks. You'll feel like you just poured kerosene on your face and lit a match.
Well, at least the runny nose can put the fire out around it, what-what?
Why yes, I did just watch The Madness of King George recently! How did you know?
Well, at least the runny nose can put the fire out around it, what-what?
Why yes, I did just watch The Madness of King George recently! How did you know?
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Glorious mess
Last week I finally admitted that my CSA vegetables age faster than I can use them, and that I need to start freezing things. A week ago Friday I made stuffed peppers with the 4 bell peppers they gave me the week before, and did my best to clear out the fridge in preparation for this week's haul.
Last night I blanched and froze three heads of broccoli...and set off the smoke detector in the process 'cause I forgot to turn on the hood fan over the range. Scared the bejeezus out of the cat. And probably my neighbors.
Today (after turning on the hood fan and pointing the living room's big standing fan out into the kitchen) I blanched 1/2 a head of cauliflower (that all that was in the crate. Still pretty big, though, even for a half), a bag of string beans (green, wax, and purple--though the purple ones turned green when they hit the water. Boooo.), and four ears of corn. Everything but the corn went into the freezer. The corn, along with some tomatoes, onions, a clove of garlic, and some bacon became this:
My Grandma Ruth used to make it, and she called it Mexicorn. I think it was a fancy word for summer-leftovers-that-need-to-be-used-up. Everything in this picture (except the bacon, of course) came from my CSA share. One of the tomatoes I used was yellow and green striped, green on the inside.
It doesn't look all that appetizing, but it tastes wonderful. Hence, this post's title.
Here's how it's made, if you'd like to try it:
Ingredients:
Bacon (I used 4 pieces, one for each cob of corn.)
Corn, cooked, cut off the cob (preferably. I've done it with frozen. It's not the same)
Onion (I used 2 tiny red ones and small white one)
1 clove of garlic (that's my own little addition. I don't think Grandma cooked with garlic)
Tomatoes, diced, preferably fresh.
Salt to taste
Ground pepper to taste
1. In a sauté pan, fry bacon until it's crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
2. Fry the onion and garlic with the bacon fat.
3. Add corn, stir.
4. Add tomatoes, stir.
5. Crumble bacon, add to pan. Stir.
6. Add salt and pepper, stir.
7. Remove from heat when mixture is throughly combined and heated through. Serve.
8. Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting.
I have no idea what the Weight Watcher's points are for this, and I. Don't. Care! It's mostly vegetables anyway. Okay, so they're covered in fat and mixed with bacon, but it's not like I eat this everyday. I've been waiting for the corn to start coming so that I could make it. I've had a little bit, and now I'm gonna quick toss the rest in the freezer so I don't eat any more today.
And pretty soon I'm going to make a recipe Pioneer Woman talked about over on her cooking blog for a pineapple-zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting. I'm going to bring that in to work. One of my co-workers is going on maternity leave very soon, and I feel like making a little fuss. We already threw her a shower, but I just want to do this. I also want to try the recipe, get rid of my zucchini , and have a piece of cake without having the rest of it leftover later. I'd say that's four birds, one stone.
Off to got pack up the mexicorn before I eat more of it!
Last night I blanched and froze three heads of broccoli...and set off the smoke detector in the process 'cause I forgot to turn on the hood fan over the range. Scared the bejeezus out of the cat. And probably my neighbors.
Today (after turning on the hood fan and pointing the living room's big standing fan out into the kitchen) I blanched 1/2 a head of cauliflower (that all that was in the crate. Still pretty big, though, even for a half), a bag of string beans (green, wax, and purple--though the purple ones turned green when they hit the water. Boooo.), and four ears of corn. Everything but the corn went into the freezer. The corn, along with some tomatoes, onions, a clove of garlic, and some bacon became this:
My Grandma Ruth used to make it, and she called it Mexicorn. I think it was a fancy word for summer-leftovers-that-need-to-be-used-up. Everything in this picture (except the bacon, of course) came from my CSA share. One of the tomatoes I used was yellow and green striped, green on the inside.
It doesn't look all that appetizing, but it tastes wonderful. Hence, this post's title.
Here's how it's made, if you'd like to try it:
Ingredients:
Bacon (I used 4 pieces, one for each cob of corn.)
Corn, cooked, cut off the cob (preferably. I've done it with frozen. It's not the same)
Onion (I used 2 tiny red ones and small white one)
1 clove of garlic (that's my own little addition. I don't think Grandma cooked with garlic)
Tomatoes, diced, preferably fresh.
Salt to taste
Ground pepper to taste
1. In a sauté pan, fry bacon until it's crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
2. Fry the onion and garlic with the bacon fat.
3. Add corn, stir.
4. Add tomatoes, stir.
5. Crumble bacon, add to pan. Stir.
6. Add salt and pepper, stir.
7. Remove from heat when mixture is throughly combined and heated through. Serve.
8. Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting.
I have no idea what the Weight Watcher's points are for this, and I. Don't. Care! It's mostly vegetables anyway. Okay, so they're covered in fat and mixed with bacon, but it's not like I eat this everyday. I've been waiting for the corn to start coming so that I could make it. I've had a little bit, and now I'm gonna quick toss the rest in the freezer so I don't eat any more today.
Later this evening I'm going to try a fennel bulb and potato au gratin recipe that the CSA put in the bulletin this past week. Wish me luck! The fennel smells great, let's hope it tastes as good and freezes well.
I'm also going to cut up the rest of the tomatoes, the cucumbers, some onion, and the radishes and make some sort of marinated salad with them. I'll probably just throw Italian dressing on it and refrigerate it.
On tomorrow's agenda -- Cream of carrot soup. With leeks and ginger and a yam, too. I made this earlier this year, never took a picture, didn't think to freeze it in time and the soup went bad. Gonna make it again now that I know what I'm doing.I'm also going to cut up the rest of the tomatoes, the cucumbers, some onion, and the radishes and make some sort of marinated salad with them. I'll probably just throw Italian dressing on it and refrigerate it.
And pretty soon I'm going to make a recipe Pioneer Woman talked about over on her cooking blog for a pineapple-zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting. I'm going to bring that in to work. One of my co-workers is going on maternity leave very soon, and I feel like making a little fuss. We already threw her a shower, but I just want to do this. I also want to try the recipe, get rid of my zucchini , and have a piece of cake without having the rest of it leftover later. I'd say that's four birds, one stone.
Off to got pack up the mexicorn before I eat more of it!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Today's fun thing-Code Monkey
I ran across a YouTube video a while back (pointed there by The Bloggess) of someone dancing in their jammies to the tune "Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton. I have fallen in love with that song. It's on my iPod now, and since I'm listening to it at work as I type (What? I'm on my afternoon break!) this I thought I might as well share it. It's a great Friday-afternoon-get-me-outta-here song.
He's released it under Creative Commons, which I guess means people are free to do with it what they will,and a bunch of people have put videos together for it. Here's one of my favorites:
And here's the one that got me interested in the song in the first place:
He's released it under Creative Commons, which I guess means people are free to do with it what they will,and a bunch of people have put videos together for it. Here's one of my favorites:
And here's the one that got me interested in the song in the first place:
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Still here
It was pointed out to me a few minutes ago that I haven't posted anything in a while. Here's what's been doing:
I went to my parents' house two weekends ago. I was planning on going anyway, to celebrate my birthday and their anniversary. The visit took on more urgency a few days before I was planning to go, as my father spent their anniversary and the next 2 days in the hospital.
Doctors gave it some Latin name I don't remember but in layman's terms he has an irregular heartbeat. He's on medication for it now. He was so severely dizzy the day he went into the hospital that he couldn't even stand. And the blood pressure medicine he was on was making things worse instead of better. So off they went to the emergency room.
My sister and brother-in-law swung by Friday to pick us up -- since I was going for more than a there-and-back-the-next-day visit, the cat had to come with me. Needs her meds for her kidney thing daily. We got to Mom and Dad's place around 11:30. Dad was home by that point. Looked fine--a little tired maybe, but glad to be home.
Apparently people live with this condition for a long time. Burt, an 80+ man who works with my Mom and Dad, has had an irregular heartbeat for 30 years. It doesn't seem to have slowed him down any.
So anyway, after assuring ourselves that Dad was okay now, we relaxed and enjoyed the weekend. Well, my brother-in-law not so much. He had what later turned out to be poison oak all over him. Even in his eye (fun!). We left earlier than planned on Sunday so he could get to a doctor or a hospital back at home to see what was up.
But Saturday was a nice relaxing day. Mom drove us out to a field that was full of wildflowers, and we took pictures. Here's one of my favorites:
And then we went to town to a shop called Olga's where we all bought some fancy yarn. I know, I don't need any more yarn! But I have some anyway, along with plans for its use.
Since then, I've been working, sleeping, weeding, and trying to keep up with my CSA shares. I just got more stuff yesterday:
I went to my parents' house two weekends ago. I was planning on going anyway, to celebrate my birthday and their anniversary. The visit took on more urgency a few days before I was planning to go, as my father spent their anniversary and the next 2 days in the hospital.
Doctors gave it some Latin name I don't remember but in layman's terms he has an irregular heartbeat. He's on medication for it now. He was so severely dizzy the day he went into the hospital that he couldn't even stand. And the blood pressure medicine he was on was making things worse instead of better. So off they went to the emergency room.
My sister and brother-in-law swung by Friday to pick us up -- since I was going for more than a there-and-back-the-next-day visit, the cat had to come with me. Needs her meds for her kidney thing daily. We got to Mom and Dad's place around 11:30. Dad was home by that point. Looked fine--a little tired maybe, but glad to be home.
Apparently people live with this condition for a long time. Burt, an 80+ man who works with my Mom and Dad, has had an irregular heartbeat for 30 years. It doesn't seem to have slowed him down any.
So anyway, after assuring ourselves that Dad was okay now, we relaxed and enjoyed the weekend. Well, my brother-in-law not so much. He had what later turned out to be poison oak all over him. Even in his eye (fun!). We left earlier than planned on Sunday so he could get to a doctor or a hospital back at home to see what was up.
But Saturday was a nice relaxing day. Mom drove us out to a field that was full of wildflowers, and we took pictures. Here's one of my favorites:
And then we went to town to a shop called Olga's where we all bought some fancy yarn. I know, I don't need any more yarn! But I have some anyway, along with plans for its use.
Since then, I've been working, sleeping, weeding, and trying to keep up with my CSA shares. I just got more stuff yesterday:
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Branching out
Y'know, being part of this CSA thing is really making me branch out, food-wise. Two weeks ago there was a great big bag of basil in my crate. The house smelled amazing. Ooof. I hadn't much of an idea what to do with it, so I looked up a recipe for pesto online, and then made some. Pictures will follow as soon as I use it. It's in the freezer right now.
This week was the best crate yet.
Buried amongst all that vegetable goodness there's another wee bag of basil. Not enough to make pesto with (though this week's CSA bulletin includes a recipe for pesto using the kale and some walnuts. Hmm. I might try that), but there was just enough to make this:
Almost too pretty to eat. I managed, though.
This week was the best crate yet.
Buried amongst all that vegetable goodness there's another wee bag of basil. Not enough to make pesto with (though this week's CSA bulletin includes a recipe for pesto using the kale and some walnuts. Hmm. I might try that), but there was just enough to make this:
Almost too pretty to eat. I managed, though.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
I thought that was called "messing with someone"
Today's word at A Word a Day is menticide. It's defined thus:
noun: The systematic undermining of a person's beliefs, attitudes, and values.Huh. I didn't know there was a word for that.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Time flies when you're doin' nothin'
I've been on vacation from July 3 to July 13. Got back to work this Monday and have been digging out from under a pile of work ever since.
Vacation was...um. I don't remember. It's kind of blurry except for the local arts festival, which was from Wednesday the 8th (kid's day) through Sunday the 12th. My sister showed up Wednesday afternoon, we went to that yarn shop the next town over, spent way too much, came home, knitted, hung out. Went to the festival Thursday, took in about 1/2 of it before the crowds got to us (when it takes great force of will to keep yourself from smacking people who stop directly in front of you for no reason or who suddenly swerve into your path, it's time to go home). Friday we hung out. That evening my Mom showed up (it was her birthday). Saturday: combo of Wednesday and Thursday. Bought Mom her birthday present at the festival. Sunday: Everyone went home, I vegged out on sofa with cat waiting for the "I made it home" phone calls to come in.
Other than that, there has been not too very much going on. Still getting vegetables from the CSA every other week. Still photographing them, though I haven't posted the pictures since the first week. Forgot. Still trying to eat them before they go bad--getting better at that.
And that's about it from over here. How are you?
Vacation was...um. I don't remember. It's kind of blurry except for the local arts festival, which was from Wednesday the 8th (kid's day) through Sunday the 12th. My sister showed up Wednesday afternoon, we went to that yarn shop the next town over, spent way too much, came home, knitted, hung out. Went to the festival Thursday, took in about 1/2 of it before the crowds got to us (when it takes great force of will to keep yourself from smacking people who stop directly in front of you for no reason or who suddenly swerve into your path, it's time to go home). Friday we hung out. That evening my Mom showed up (it was her birthday). Saturday: combo of Wednesday and Thursday. Bought Mom her birthday present at the festival. Sunday: Everyone went home, I vegged out on sofa with cat waiting for the "I made it home" phone calls to come in.
Other than that, there has been not too very much going on. Still getting vegetables from the CSA every other week. Still photographing them, though I haven't posted the pictures since the first week. Forgot. Still trying to eat them before they go bad--getting better at that.
And that's about it from over here. How are you?
Friday, June 26, 2009
So it turns out I like jazz. And blues.
Whodathunkit?
Glad I went. She was fun and funny and soulful and has an incredible voice. I bought one of her CD's from a table in the lobby one my way out, and also bought on from the act that went on ahead of her, Beaucoup Blue -- a father-and-son blues duo out of Philadelphia. Blues and jazz, two things I've never really sought out, and I liked 'em both.
Only one drawback of the evening--two people right behind me who wouldn't stop talking. Constant chatter. All. Night. Long. Argh! I wish I'd had the nerve to do what a friend of mine did after some woman sat next to him and chatted to her companion the whole way through a showing of Moulin Rouge. After the lights came up, he turned to her and said:
"You owe me four dollars."
"What?!?"
"Your yapping made me miss about half that movie. Ticket cost me $8. You owe me $4."
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Well, I know what you were talking about." And then he proceeded to list all the topics she and her friend had discussed over the past two hours. She stood there, shocked and affronted.
"Hey, lady, in future? If you want to talk, go to a restaurant. If you come to see a movie? Shut up."
He's my hero.
Glad I went. She was fun and funny and soulful and has an incredible voice. I bought one of her CD's from a table in the lobby one my way out, and also bought on from the act that went on ahead of her, Beaucoup Blue -- a father-and-son blues duo out of Philadelphia. Blues and jazz, two things I've never really sought out, and I liked 'em both.
Only one drawback of the evening--two people right behind me who wouldn't stop talking. Constant chatter. All. Night. Long. Argh! I wish I'd had the nerve to do what a friend of mine did after some woman sat next to him and chatted to her companion the whole way through a showing of Moulin Rouge. After the lights came up, he turned to her and said:
"You owe me four dollars."
"What?!?"
"Your yapping made me miss about half that movie. Ticket cost me $8. You owe me $4."
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Well, I know what you were talking about." And then he proceeded to list all the topics she and her friend had discussed over the past two hours. She stood there, shocked and affronted.
"Hey, lady, in future? If you want to talk, go to a restaurant. If you come to see a movie? Shut
He's my hero.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)