Happy Pills

Bob and I were watching tv last night when a commercial came on for a new anti-depressant. Drug commercials always crack me up because when they list the side effects of the drugs, they are often worse than the original condition. (I think my personal favorite was "may cause fainting and diarrhea". Those are conditions that will just make you loads of fun at parties!) In this particular case your depression will be cured but the side effect is constipation.

"Oh great," I told Bob. "You are happy but constipated."

Bob then looked at me and in all seriousness said, "Well, that's because happy people don't give a crap!"

Spring is Sprung!

Spring is sprung
the grass is riz
and in the trees
Da birdies is...

For those of you in places where the hope of spring is buried under mounds of snow, I give you the following:



The Western Redbud at the front of the house is covered with delicate pink blossoms.



The camellias are in bloom.




And the roses for the hanging baskets out front that Bob ordered as a Valentine's gift finally arrived.

What Kind of Knitter am I?

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Goddess. You are constantly giving and are unconcerned with reward, you simply want others to love knitting as much as you do. If someone wants to knit miles of novelty yarns, you are there for them. If someone wants to learn short row shaping, you can help. There are no taboos in knitting, only opportunities to grow. Everyone should have friend like you around if they want to learn to knit, and there's a good chance that your passion has rubbed off on a few others.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








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Chemo Caps!

A few months ago I got an e-mail from my friend Marsha in Mill Valley. She has an friend in Eastern Star up in Ukiah whose Chapter had been knitting chemo caps. The location they had been donating to had shut down and she wanted to know if I knew of any place that would take them. Since here in the area we have the U.C. Davis Cancer Center as well as the Shriner's Hospital, I said I would love to help them out. I also have a friend who works at St. Jude's Children's Hospital so there was another location that could benefit. I got an e-mail saying a package would be on the way soon.

Yesterday the package arrived.


I found some lovely hats that were handmade with love by the lovely ladies of the Eastern Star



(and the hats have the labels to prove it!) The timing could not have been better as Mary and Phillip will be out from Tennesse for spring break and I can donate the first batch to them.

I liked the red, white & green with sparkles, or as I like to think of it: Christmas camouflage. (Been on the naughty list and need to hide out from Santa? Christmas camo will help!) But I do have an inordinate fondness for sparkly yarn as my yarn stash proves,

Its always exciting to see a plan come together like this! Who knew that this is where knitting would lead me!

Saturday in the park with Bob

Today was a beautiful day. Lots of puffy clouds and the sun peeking out withthe hint of spring. Since Bob had the day off, we decided to head to the park and enjoy the glorious day. Our first stop on the way was to the dollar store to buy bags of unsalted peanuts to feed the squirrels in the park. I don't know why, but I love being able to get them to come up and take peanuts from my hands. (Of course while the ones in front are distracting you with their cuteness, the rest sneak up behind you and steal your peanuts, car keys, wallet...)

Stop number two was at the "Pasty Shack". Now before you go thinking that our day in the park involved some strange "hootchie kootchie" dance with small rodents I should explain what a pasty is. A pasty is a pastry shell stuffed with meat, onions, potatoes and spices and is part of the cuisine of Cornwall. Cornish miners came to California during the gold rush to work in the gold mines since at the time there was decline in mining in their native Cornwall. The Cornish miners were skilled hard rock miners and brought their talents and their pasties to Northern California.

We enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch in the park and were soon joined by a small but lively gathering of squirrels. After a while we sauntered around the pond watching the ducks, geese and people along our way.

It was such a relaxing afternoon and so wonderful to be able to spend a whole day with my husband.

Bodies Revealed

Bob and I went to the "Bodies Revealed" exhibit this afternoon. It was incredible. The exhibit takes you through all the systems of the body starting with the skeletal (which I know like the back of my hand from my student assistant job in the Anthropology Departemnet way back when) all the way through fetal development (Which I think they could have expanded on) The bodies are preserved utilizing a process in which the fluid in the body is replaced with a plasticine. The result looks and smells like the rawhide treats you give your dog. It was very fascinating but I will admit that the full bodies did freak me out a little bit. I think it was the eyes, eyelashes and eyebrows. I kept expecting them to turn and say something to me. (I think its the same that un-nerves me at open casket funerals) Overall I would recommend the exhibit as a fascinating view inside the body.

Unemployee of the Month

I discovered last night, via a voice mail on my home machine that after almost 6 years my employer has decided it is time to "part ways". You would have thought that after almost 6 years of working with me I would at least get the courtesy of a face to face termination. But after almost 6 years working for my boss I didn't expect that. (Other former employees have been terminated by voicemail, e-mail and my personal favorite: instant message.)

A message stating "I need to talk to you, please call me" would have been better. I was in the office all afternoon and he had opportunity to speak with me, but he chose not to face me.

I think the icing on the cake for me was the e-mail I received:

"ok.

I would have liked to discuss your termination rather
than leaving a message on a machine. Please give me a
call tomorrow"

That's being bent over and reamed and then having them leave their number and say "call me".

Conspiracy Theory

I have a theory that there are members of my household who do not want me to use the computer. Some are subtle in their machinations and some are downright blunt.


My DH for example. As soon as I sit at the computer he finds some reason to come in and talk to me. We could have spent the entire day together, but as soon as I sit at the computer he has to come in and pester me.


The cats are more subtle. I think they save up all day and then come to the litter box just outside the door of the den to "make almod roca". They must be snacking on somethiing other than their regular food to make me gag like that!

Bird Watching.

You wouldn't think one would get a lot of bird watching done in an office, but my desk has a window and I get to look out of it every now and then. Most mornings there are flocks of seagulls circling high up in the air. Nothing too exciting there.

Around 10 a.m. the wild turkeys will make their appearance. Some mornings its 3 toms out for their morning stroll trying to look studly and find some mates. This morning it was a flock of about 15 females. Most of the time they are on the lawn outside my window looking for snacks, but today they were out doing laps of the parking lot, looking for all the world like the litle old ladies who walk the malls in inclement weather.

As I left work with Bob, I looked up to see vultures circling the parking lot. That is never a good sign at work!

Bad Blogger

Its been while since I last posted. Packages have arrived. I got a lovely dried flower wreath from Mary. Its very lovely and I need to decide where to hang it where it won't get knocked around and the cats can't mess with it. On the same day, we also welcomed "Flat Stanley" to our house from SIL Jen's house in Ohio. More on him in a future blog. A third box arrived on Friday, full of Bernat Denim Style Yarn I bought on E-bay (9 skeins WOO HOO!) I have already cast on a pair of cozy house socks for me in the "weathered rose" color. Most of these will become socks. Love the yarn as it is soft and cozy. Love the first pair of socks I made with it. (1st pair I actually made for me!)