Tomorrow!

At this time tomorrow, I will be at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival! As any of you who read my blog last year this time, this is even better than Christmas for me! And this year, after expecting to not have any money at all to spend on it, I will have more than usual!

One of the major things I want to make sure to check out is the new Majacraft Serenity Wheel. It's being introduced at this year's festival! Here's the schedule, if you want to find out more about it. They haven't leaked any photos, and people who saw it at their spinning camp have been sworn to secrecy, but they have shown some of the yarn that has been spun on it. As you can see, if you click on the "yarn" link, it's been developed to spin art yarns and novelties, and I am going nuts with suspense about it! From what I can tell, all of the Majacraft wheels have the potential to spin art yarns, so I can't imagine what they've done to make it even better!

The other major thing I want to look for this year is kniting bags. I don't know why I've gotten on that kick this year, but for some unexplained reason, I have.

Which probably means that I'll find something wonderful that I've never seen before, and once I've seen it will realize that I can't live without it! That's the way it usually works.

Holly and I have also decided that we're going to take lots of photos this year. He camera just broke (actually, the battery in it broke), so I'm lending her my tiny, carry-it-all-the-time camera (which is older, and has a lower resolution) and I'm going to use my super-duper, fabulous camera. I want to replace my old camera with this:

It has a 4X optical zoom, and most cameras only have a 3X zoom. I like the zoom control, too. It's very responsive, and easy to zoom to right where you want it! It also takes the same memory card as the better camera I have. One of the reasons I like it is because it takes AA batteries. That makes it just a little more bulky, but much easier to deal with. You can buy rechargeable AA batteries (and I already have some, plus a recharger), but if you absolutely use up all your batteries, you can buy new ones anywhere. I once went to Pennsic with batteries in my camera, and took one photo, and the batteries died. The camp store had AA batteries for sale, but the camera took esoteric camera batteries that were not available within 100 miles. I know because I spent hours of my time there driving around looking for the right batteries instead of enjoying Pennsic! I took a grand total of one photo at Pennsic that year, and don't ever intend to repeat that!

So, all this is what I'm concentrating on, not some of the other, less happy parts of this post.

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When it comes to the less happy parts of the post, that happened yesterday.

I got to see the results of the CT scan yesterday. It was amazing, and also not really very good news.

The doctor explained (as was pretty self evident) that the lighter parts of the scan showed more thickness or density on the image of my head. He showed me my left ear, which is OK (aside from the fact that it can't really hear well). You could see my outer ear, and the structure inside. It looked just like one of those inner ear illustrations.

Then he showed me my left ear. You could see my outer ear, and then, right inside, there is a big white blob. The bone right inside my outer ear has gone berserk and just grown solid. No wonder I can't hear out of it!

He said that there's an operation they can do which is classified as an exploratory operation. He said they might or might not be able to fix it, but that no matter how the operation turns out, people with Paget's usually have the bone grow back even more aggressively, and wind up with an even worse problem than they started with. He didn't recommend the operation.

He also noted that some sinuses and other parts of the inside of my skull have warped and grown in odd directions.

In other words, it's a strange and twisted place inside my head. Actually, it was strange before I got Paget's, but that's a whole other story.

He said the same thing the other doctor said, which is that I really need to see someone who knows about Paget's and has treated it. He said a rheumatologist would be a good idea. He recommended that I call John's Hopkins and ask for a recommendation from them. He said that they would almost certainly know of a good doctor for me.

Paget's is rare enough that most doctors have never treated a case. I almost said that most doctors have never seen a case, but that's probably not true. I had probably at least 20 doctors comment on my alkaline phosphatase test (which indicated I have Paget's, although it can indicate other things) without having a clue what they were looking at. So, doctors actually see it, they just don't recognize or treat it!

The ENT doctor that I went to also doesn't do hearing aids, so I have to go do something about that myself. I'm thinking of going back to the VA Hospital in DC for that.

I may ask them about Paget's treatment. I won't take them up on it if they still have that same idiot doctor I saw about it before. He didn't seem to want to prescribe anything for me unless it would cause really BAD side effects, but he was happier about prescribing something that would be lethal.

I can't really do anything about this over the weekend, so I'm going to forget about it over the weekend and do something about it on Monday. It's depressing me, and I want to forget it and have fun this weekend.

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There will be a new Doctor Who on BBC in America on Saturday evening! Plus the usual schedule for tonight and the weekend. Enjoy! I'm too distracted by other things to really pay attention to all this, although I set my DVR to record everything I want to see.

I hope your weekend is as fun as mine is going to be!

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Oh, I nearly forgot! I saw this wonderful knitting pattern today, and wanted to pass it along!

And, while I'm thinking of it, I am looking for a copy of a knitting stitch called net stitch. I own a copy of one of the Walker stitch library books (it's the charted book, in the uncharted section in the back) that has it in, but can't find the book (it's around here somewhere), and I was hoping that somebody out there, reading my blog might have a clue where to look. I don't really want to spend money on another copy of a book that's that expensive, especially when I already own it, and I was wondering if it was published elsewhere. I haven't been able to find it on the internet.

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Addition:

I found a photo of the new Majacraft wheel! It doesn't show much, but at least it's a photo.

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Another Addition:

When I found the photo, I put it up there, but I just now really looked at it. It looks like it's double drive! and it looks like you can change the ratios between the flyer and bobbin! instead of having one long drive wheel to drive both the flyer and bobbin, there appears to be a separate drive band for each! I've never seen such a thing on a spinning wheel before! I had a Schacht Matchless wheel, so I've tried double drive and I like it. It helps you spin yarn that is much more consistent. But the possibilities of having the flyer and bobbin driven separately, with choice of ratios is mind boggling! I haven't even seen one in person, and I'm already amazed and impressed!

A Day of Extremes

Everything so far today seems to be some kind of extreme, either good or bad.

When I went to the doctor the last time, she recommended that I talk to the people at NIH because they are doing some clinical trials for Paget's Disease, and I could get free treatment there. I tried to explain to her that without a car, this would entail nearly a whole day to get there and another day to get home, with probably some camping out overnight involved, and she didn't exactly say it was my problem, but didn't offer any solutions.

I've tried several times to get information about these mythical trials from their website, and there not only isn't any info, but they leave you with the impression that nobody in the whole building has a phone or an email address. After the fourth information gathering attempt today, I finally found an information phone number for them.

They don't do research (according to the woman I spoke to), but she referred me to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, who are also not giving out information about where to find doctors or trials. And they impressed on me how rare this disease is, and how few doctors actually treat it. If I can find a doctor, though, and can't afford the doctor or treatment, they may be able to help me with that. I guess that's a ray of light in the darkness.

So, I'm really bummed. Maybe I can try to find more information another time, but I'm so depressed about this that I just can't do it anymore today.

This is probably a bad time to do all this research, too, because I have an appointment with the ENT specialist tomorrow. That means probably no blog post tomorrow.

It also means that I'll get the results of the tests he gave me and the CT scan and find out if there is something they can do to help my right ear.

And now that the time approaches, I'm afraid they're going to say that there's nothing they can do, and I'll not only have no hearing in that ear, but have to put up with the pain, pressure and itching in that ear forever.

They said that there's almost no hearing problem that can't be helped with the right kind of hearing aid, but it would be nice to be able to hear something without an aid. For instance, if I sleep on my left side and there's a fire alarm or somebody knocking on the door, I'll never hear it.

So, tomorrow is probably going to include some news that is either really, really good, or really, really bad.

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The good news is that it looks like (if everything goes well) I may have some money to take with me to the Sheep and Wool Festival!

The people I'm doing the game art for liked what I did and thought they'd told me that, but they hadn't. There is a smidge of work yet to do, but they're willing to send me a cashier's check for the whole thing right now. I'm thrilled.

So, I'm still entering contests for an iPad so I can get a copy of the game I did the art for on it.

Holly bought a Sony Reader a few weeks ago, and she loves it! I love the idea of it, and would like something like that, but it and the Kindle are both limited to black and white, and I'm not really happy with that. I thought I'd like an iPad better, and I probably would, because it can do a lot of other things in addition to displaying books.

I came across another reader that I like a lot. It's the Barnes and Noble Nook. It costs about the same amount as the Kindle, so it's more expensive than the Sony Reader that Holly got, but a bit cheaper than the Sony Reader Touchscreen model. But the Nook has color and a touch screen, and can let you play games and also access and send email. So it's kind of an option between the Sony Reader and Kindle on the low end, and an iPad on the high end. And about the same price as a Kindle or a Sony Reader Touch.

Then again, there's the cost of the actual ebooks. Changes is about ten dollars in hardback on Amazon. I paid $13 for it including shipping from them, but they haven't even got it listed as available for Kindle. Holly bought the same book for her Sony, and I think the price was about the same as the hard back, but, of course, there was no shipping. It's available for the Nook for about the $13 I paid.

Possibly the best news in all of this is that there will be a Nook application out sometime this year for my phone! So, all I have to do is wait a bit, and I'll be able to buy the software for hardware that I already own! Oh, and the Nook and Kindle software is also available for iPad.

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My garment steamer, the thing that I use to block most of the stuff that I knit that needs blocking, is incontinent! Yesterday morning, when I got up, I discovered it had made a puddle on the floor.

I am thinking about fixing it, but I'm a little worried about fixing something, filling it with water and plugging it into the wall. I discovered that some steamers have drain plugs. Unfortunately, this one does not. I need a screwdriver with a long reach because the screws are recessed. I also want to give it a chance for some of the water to evaporate.

So I'll give a shot at fixing it later.

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Merlin, the TV series, is just now coming on SyFy, and will be on this evening, and I want to go watch it!

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I'm rambling, so I'll say goodbye for today, and try to put up a post on Thursday!

Have fun!

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Addition:

Here's something to cheer you up! It's a batch of photos of funny signs at zoos! this one is my favorite:

One Week from Now!

One week from now, I'll be at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!

If you read this blog, you already know that, but I'm really excited!

I've been thinking about what I'd like to buy if I had any money, and what I seem to be thinking about most is bags.

Don't ask me why.

I have a perfectly serviceable bag, but I keep dreaming of this Namaste Laguna bag, of course in eggplant:

That's a clickable link, not a photo.

And I had been thinking about the GoKnit small pouch from Know Knits:

I'm looking for a navy colored one, though, and that's another clickable link.

But I found an even nicer one. The HiyaHiya small project bag:

This bag has two zippered pockets, one inside and one outside, and is large enough to hold a ball of yarn and a sock-in-progress! That's not a clickable link--use the link at the name. HiyaHiya has some bags that are actually available in blue, but the small project bag seems to only be available in red and teal.

After looking around, though, I really like the Della Q Interchangeable Needle Case, and it's available in purple to match the big bag I want

It's even available in a case that will hold two sets of interchangeable needles!

You're probably tired of all this by now, so I'll go and get ready for all the Doctor Who fun on BBC in America this evening.

Have a fabulous weekend!

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Addition:

I've changed my mind. I don't want the Namaste Laguna bag, I'd rather have the Monroe.

The AC Is On!

The air conditioning is on, and it's not a moment too soon!

It's only going up to about 70 degrees today, but that means it'll be somewhere between 80 and 90 in my apartment without the AC. And it'll be warmer all the rest of the week.

But the real reason is that my post nasal drip was so bad last night that I didn't get much sleep because I couldn't fall asleep because I kept feeling like I was drowning. And I woke up today, not only with a sore throat, but the kind of sore throat that feels like someone's in there cutting it up with a knife.

But there were a lot of noises around 2:30, and for a moment I thought someone was knocking at the door, but it was just the temperature changes affecting various parts of the building because the AC was on!

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I happened across the strangest animal on the internet today. It's a pig with the coat of a sheep! You really have to see this! At first glance, I thought someone had done something weird with PhotoShop, but after reading the story and looking a little more closely, it looks like a real wooly pig! I wonder if there will be any pig fiber at the Sheep and Wool Festival.

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There will be a new Doctor Who on BBC in America on Saturday! They will repeat the first new episode of the season, The Eleventh Hour, and also show the second new episode of the season, The Beast Below.

Find listings of what's playing over the next few weeks here, and a listing of all the Doctor Who episodes up until this season and most of the new episodes here. You have to scroll way down to see this (new) season's episodes, and they don't have all the names up yet, but it does help.

If you read that second list, you'll find that the weeping angels will be back in a two part episode, and it will be written by Steven Moffat, who wrote the original weeping angels story, Blink! I have yet to find anyone, whether Doctor Who fan or not, who didn't love Blink!

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I have to get going. I need to take more antihistamines and decongestants!

Hope you're having a less allergy-ridden day than I am!

Ten Days Until the Sheep and Wool Festival!

There are only ten days to the Sheep and Wool Festival! You're going to get tired of hearing about how I can hardly wait, but it's really better than Christmas for me. And I don't even have to get together presents for everyone else!

This year, as frequently happens, I'll be going with very little money, but will be getting some money on the Monday after the fest, so I plan to spend some of that money on things I might've bought there, but didn't have the money.

At the festival, I usually try to buy things that I don't really want to buy over the internet, such as things that are handmade, and therefore, one of a kind, particularly if they're made of wood, which always has it's own individual grain.

But I have been looking at things that I might want to buy later, and there are some tempting things out there, let me tell you!

About the demonstrations of the new Majacraft wheel, there is a schedule posted on their blog, finally! Since Holly has to drive in the opposite direction from the festival to pick me up before she even gets started, which makes it a one to two hour drive just to get back to where she started and pick up the rest of the people who are going, and it's about a two hour drive after that, we seldom get there by noon. So, it looks like my best bet will be to catch them at Susan's Fiber Shop at 2:30. I had a feeling Susan would have one of their wheels and be demonstrating it! She has everything, and can demonstrate all of it!

I just put new batteries in my wonderful, fabulous camera, and I'm charging up some more, just in case!

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Today has been a cool, overcast day for this time of year. There's probably been a bit of drizzle, too, but I haven't really been paying attention to it.

It's a good thing this is a cool day because although they started trying to get the air conditioning here to work on Monday, they were still having problems with doing that yesterday, and they said maybe later in the day, or possibly tomorrow (today). It's still not on, though. The heat and allergy situation is much better though because of the coolness, overcast, and the drizzle (which washes at least some of the pollen out of the air).

It's a quiet day with not much happening, and nothing good on TV tonight, but this is why I have a DVR, after all.

I hope all of you are having a more fun day than I am!

A Dozen Days Until the Sheep and Wool Festival!

I'm all excited about the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, which will be the first full weekend in May (always), and is the largest thing of it's kind in the United States! This year it will be on May 1 and 2, and we'll be going on the first.

This year, the big draw for me is that the Majacraft people will be unveiling their new wheel, called Serenity (another Firefly fan was responsible for this), which was designed specifically for spinning "art yarns." I can't wait to see it, and see how it works, and what makes it special! Here is a photo of some of the yarns that have already been spun on a Serenity:

This photo is from the Majacraft blog, which you can find and read at the above links. I'm showing the photo because I want you to go look at it on their blog. It's an incentive.

This year, I may have some money coming to me, but if it doesn't arrive by the end of the month, I'll be going without any money. There will be a lot of things I can later buy over the internet, but there will be a lot of things I'll have to miss out on if I have to go with no money.

Here's a couple of photos of their Rose wheel, which is the one I have:

Holly went to a knitting retreat this past weekend, and she was telling me about one of the women who was there and spun on what she thought was a Rose wheel all weekend. She said she wasn't sure and would tell me the next time she saw my wheel, so I thought I'd put photos of the wheel up so she could see them.

Money or not, I'm still getting excited about the Sheep and Wool Festival!

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I have actually been doing some knitting, but what I've been knitting is gifts for others, so you won't be seeing photos of them here for a while. Sorry!

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There's a rerun on Chuck and The Big Bang Theory tonight, but a brand, spanking, new episode of Castle. No Ghost Whisperer on SyFy, though because they're doing their "miniseries" month. It'll be back on Monday nights eventually, at least once in a while.

Tomorrow night, as usual, there will be a new Lost and V!

Wednesday is an evening to spend watching what you recorded on your TiVo, DVR or VHS.

I hope you're having a terrific start to your week!

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Addition:

The apartment place I live in promised that the people would be coming out today to turn on the air conditioning. They say it takes a whole 8 hours for them to do this, but it's now 6:30, and it usually goes on around 4 or 5 when they actually do it, and it's 80 degrees in here, so it's obvious they haven't done it.

It's cool outside, so that's not a problem. The problem is that the windows are open and there's a fan blowing in not only cool air, but all the pollen, too! My health can't stand this!

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Another Addition:

Get your fix of cute little lambs here!

Meteor Shower!

That's a meteor shower from last year.

I usually try to keep up with these things, but the Lyrid Meteor Shower snuck up on me and I nearly missed it! Actually I haven't really missed the Lyrids, but they seem to be starting earlier than expected this year. There are more articles here and here, and you can find many more on the internet after a brief search.

There was an incredible fireball seen in several states last night. There's an amazing video here, too.

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Are you one of those annoying people who goes around asking people "What's your sign?" Well, here's a new one for you.

People are now trying to identify personality types by assessing their blood types! Check it out and read more about yourself and your friends!

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Today is the day in the US when tax returns have to be mailed.

And to cheer you up, lots of people are making free things available today! Check out this, too!

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I have lots to do, and not much time to do it in, so I have to go, now.

I hope you're having a wonderful week!

Schedule

First, before I get into scheduling for the rest of the year, I want to say I haven't been ignoring you.

As every year, in the Spring and Fall, the apartment place I live in has a problem with the heat/air conditioning. Or, more accurately, I have a problem with the heat/air conditioning. They couldn't care less.

The heat is either on or off, and the air conditioning is either on or off. They hire a company to come in here and turn the heat off (in Spring), which they say takes a whole eight hour day, and then later they get the same company to come in here and turn on the air conditioning, which they also insist takes a whole eight hour day, and both of these events have to be scheduled ahead of time. Which involves them having to predict the weather and the optimum time to do that. Which, of course, they can never get right.

Their standard answer to my complaint about this is to tell me to open a window. And since we're having record high counts of tree pollen, to which I'm grossly allergic, this poses a severe health problem every Spring, followed in the Fall by the same problem with ragweed. This problem doesn't end with the windows closing, but manages to keep me feeling sick from April to around the beginning of the new year. Every year!

The end result of all this is that we always have at least a week, and usually closer to a month where the temperature in my apartment never gets lower than 80 degrees. It has been over 110 degrees in here already

This is that time. I had a week where the temp in my apartment didn't get lower than 80. All I wanted to do was lie down flat and sneeze and sneeze, blow my nose and try not to drown from all the junk draining down my throat! Then, on Thursday, late in the day, early in the evening, a thunderstorm swept in with a cold front behind it (naturally), and it cooled off for a few days, which is giving me a chance to recover somewhat before the heat hits today and tomorrow.

So, I've been dealing with what is about equivalent to a bad cold. And the worst thing is that it's going to go on for a while. The heat is finally off, and the AC isn't due to be on until the 19th of May, around 4 or 5 o'clock.

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Robin hasn't had a vacation in ages, and was getting to the point where things were starting to be stressful for him, so he decided to go on vacation, which he had scheduled to start on Thursday. So, he drove to Assateague Island to go camping, set up camp, and the temperature plunged and the rain (and thunder and lightening) started. Eventually, he called Holly complaining about the weather and asked her to make a reservation for him at a hotel in Ocean City. I feel bad for him that so much of his short vacation was spent outdoors in the rain and cold. I was out on Friday, and it was chilly enough that I wore my Winter coat, and was glad I did. They said it wasn't supposed to go much above 60 degrees, but it was windy and cold in spite of all the sun.

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On Friday, I was out to get a CT scan of my ear so they can find out why my middle ear is blocking sound instead of conducting it like it should.

I talked to Holly about it before hand, and she said the scan would be very noisy. I mentioned that to the technician before the test. She said that Holly must've had an MRI, because CT scans aren't noisy, and she was right, it made kind of a whooshing noise.

Friday night I told Holly that the CT scan wasn't noisy, and she said "How would you know?"

I waited around, and they gave me the disk to give to the doctor. I thought I might be able to see the inside of my afflicted ear on my computer, but my computer doesn't have whatever special program is needed to view it. It seems odd to me that they'd invent a whole new format just for things like this. I mean they could have used JPEG, EPS, or any other format, but that doesn't seem to be the case. They didn't even use any standard text format for the written summary. The only thing I could view was their logo. I'm disappointed!

I plan to take the disk over to the doctor on Monday and make an appointment. So, we'll see then.

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The digital TV Guide just rolled over to next Saturday, and BBC in America is having a full day of Doctor Who next Saturday! It'll start around 6 am (here) and run through the end of the fourth season, some Doctor Who specials, all of the fifth season, and continue with the first new episode The Eleventh Hour! Then there will be several repeats of the new episode. Check your local schedules and set your DVRs/TiVos!

Episodes to especially watch for include Silence in the Library/Forrest of the Dead (a two-parter: a horror story with a love story embedded), Turn Left, and the finale: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, with all the major characters that have been in the series recently, including Sarah Jane Smith, Rose, Martha, and Gwen, Ianto, and Captain Jack from Torchwood.

Don't miss it!

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And, finally, to the schedule for this year!

• May 1-2--The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival The biggest event of it's kind in the United States, the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is not to be missed! We almost always go on Saturday. The hours say that it's open until 5 on Sunday, but people start packing up at around 3, so you miss a lot if you go on Sunday.
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• Jun 12-13--The Potomac Celtic Festival All things Celtic! Once again, Saturday is the day to go!
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• August 28-October 24--The Maryland Renaissance Festival  We don't usually decide which weekends we'll be going this early, but we usually try to make it twice once in September and once in October.
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• October 2-3--Fall Fiber Festival and Montpelior Sheepdog Trials  This is so much smaller than the Sheep and Wool Fest, but something to tide you over until the next one.

And that brings us up to the cooler weather when these kinds of things don't generally happen.

This year, Lynn will not be joining us for some or most of the fun things we'll be going to. She's having more eye surgery, this time for cataracts.

I'm really upset that she won't be going, but even more upset because of the reason. I wish her the best with the surgery, and wish her eyes were just OK and didn't need the surgery at all, but I am thankful that what's wrong is something that can be fixed. We're going to miss you while we're doing all these fun things! Maybe you can get to go to the Renfaire in the Fall, if you can get off work!?

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The high today is over seventy, so it's already getting uncomfortable in here, and it'll be even worse tomorrow. It's supposed to cool off a bit on Tuesday and Wednesday, but there will be more heat and indoor pollen before this is over. Don't worry if I don't blog every day. It'll just be the heat!

In case I don't blog as often as I'd like, have a wonderful week!

Heat Wave!

Well, we're back to the usual Spring insanity with the place that I live.

Don't get me wrong, this is a really wonderful place to live. There's just one problem. The heat is either on or off. The building seems to hold heat, and I only have to use the control that I have in my apartment to turn it up from "cold" when the temp doesn't go above 10 degrees for a high in the winter. Normally, the windows are open from October to late April because it's so warm in here.

Well, we have had temperatures around 80 degrees for over a week, and THE HEAT IS STILL ON! It's expected to get to around 90 today, and have I mentioned that the heat is STILL ON! I can expect temps in my apartment of 110 degrees or above.

AND, as if that isn't enough, the only way I've been able to survive so far is by opening the windows and blowing in TONS of tree pollen, to which I'm allergic! So, as usual, the apartment place has given me a BIG start on a health problem that will last until Christmas because of all this pollen I'm being exposed to. First, there's tree pollen (now), then grass, then ragweed.

I'm planning on going out for the day where the heat will only be excessive, not lethal.

Maybe I'll move to the mall.

Anyway, until this problem is resolved, you may not hear much of me on this blog, so don't be alarmed.

Lost and V tonight!

Have fun until I'm back!

Extra April Fool's Day Stuff

I missed something really fabulous on Thursday!

So, in the spirit of "better late than never," I present this link to The Panopticon and a peek into the mind of a deranged knitter!

If you don't read The Panopticon, you really should. It's written by Franklin, a photographer by profession. a knitter by choice and an artist and writer of insane knitting adventures with his imaginary friend, a sheep named Dolores.

Please don't tell Dolores I said she was imaginary.

You might recognize him from this photo, which was in a lot of knitting magazines. Check out his story about the photo.

He is, above all, a man who understands knitting!

I realize that this is a little late for April Fool, but I had to make sure you didn't miss it!

My Easter post was put up earlier today.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

I saw something really neat and really cute, and thought you might like to see the idea.

These bunny mittens were sewn, and you can get the instructions to make them and a bunny hat/ears here at the Purl Bee.

Of course, it wouldn't be too difficult to make a pair of mittens in white, and duplicate stitch the paw pads on.

On Friday, I was at Safeway, and found a really pretty African violet that was very inexpensive, and got it, so I've been thinking about flowers.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter!

Good Friday

Happy Good Friday!

For more information about Good Friday, Wikipedia has some information here.

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Tonight, on SyFy, the new seasons of Stargate Universe and Merlin will premiere! And on CBS, we have new episodes of Ghost Whisperer and Medium!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings this weekend, TBS will have The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, respectively. Yes, if, after all this time you missed The Lord of the Rings, you can see it now.

I hope you're having a wonderful Easter Weekend!

Happy April Fools Day!

Happy Birthday, Malaia!

My granddaughter, Malaia, is having her birthday today, and I wish her the best!

Somehow, April Fools Day suits her for a birthday!

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If you look around the internet today, you'll find a lot of April Fools Jokes.

I happened to look at something on TwitPic, and noticed that their name is upside down.

If you go to Google today, you might notice that they seem to have changed their name to Topeka.

And if you believe that, here's an article for you! DO NOT, under any circumstances (unless your boss is leaning over your shoulder) miss that last link! It's totally outrageous!

The most elaborate April Fools Day joke I've ever seen for fiberartists appears here, and involves a whole new fiber that you've never heard of before! This is just too funny!

If you enjoyed that, check out what they did last year!

Here's more information on the history of April Fool's Day. As the article points out, it's difficult to tell if the "history" is true or an April Fool's Day joke. My personal favorite is the "Arm the Homeless" campaign! Don't forget to scroll down for lots of links to other related stories!

The DiGionoro people want to help you publish an outrageous story to Facebook, and give you a coupon for a pizza to celebrate Aprils Fool's Day. Check it out, it's really hilarious.

Wikipedia has an April Fool's Day story on their main page today. That link will probably only get you the story today, but here's what should be a direct link. In case you're interested, here's the link to the actual April Fool's Day information on Wikipedia. Don't neglect to scroll down and find out how Alabama changed the value of Pi! My particular favorite is about the resort called San Seriffe. I have done typesetting, and anyone who appreciates typefaces will enjoy the description!

If you keep scrolling down, you'll be able to spend a large part of today reading about past April Fool jokes and pranks. One of my favorites is the Dead Fairy Hoax.

And last, but not least, click on the April Fool link and read about the Google vowel outage!

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The universe played it's April Fool joke on me just a little early this year. One of the things the doctor prescribed for me to take is Nasonex. I took it according to directions yesterday.

The instant reaction was lots of sneezing that lasted quite a while, strong nasal itching and having my nose and every sinus I own filled to bursting in less than one minute! It was horrible! Kind of like having your head explode!

My nose and sinuses are just now starting to clear out. I think this is what's called a paradoxical reaction. My eyes still feel all swollen and bleary and I'm exhausted from little sleep last night due to imminent suffocation!

But I got the blood tests for the ENT doctor done at 8:30 AM today, which is good.

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In science fiction media news today, check out this link for information on the changing face of science fiction schedules on TV. Some shows are finishing their season and others are starting, so you have to be on your toes to avoid missing something you might want to see. Some of the info is for this week, and some for into May.

There are lots of new episodes to regular shows tonight. They include The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Fringe, Flash Forward and The Mentalist. Unfortunately, if you can only record or watch two shows at a time, you won't be able to watch them all.

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I happened across information on an interesting new artist. Check her out here!

I have some stuff I really (should have done it yesterday) have to get done, so I have to go, now.

I wish I could go out and walk for a bit before it gets dark. It's warm and sunny out, and perfect for a walk.

Back to the grindstone!

Have a great April Fool's Day, and don't get taken in!