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February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 Back to HOME |
| April 22, 2004 -- Jet-lag. |
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Kimberly came home from school yesterday, said she was tired, and went in to take a nap. (She's still jet-lagged from her trip to England.) About 6:30 she got up, changed clothes, fixed a snack, and organized her papers and homework. At 7:00 she came in and said "Well, I'm leaving now." "Where are you going?" "School." "Oh, what's going on at school tonight?" Pause - Blink - "Tonight? It's not morning?" We both started laughing as the reality of the situation hit us. In her defense, Kimberly says, "There's no AM or PM on watches and the sky looks the same in the evening as it does in the morning." |
| April 21, 2004 -- In hospital. |
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It's funny how everything can change in just the fraction of a second. I broke my arm.
I went clear through the activities of childhood without breaking anything but now I've broken my arm. And it wasn't even anything very dramatic. I just fell. But I landed on brick and I landed hard. I broke one bone of my elbow, dislocated the other, and apparently shattered fragments off the socket area. Holding up the X-ray, the doctor said, "Whoa, you don't have to be an expert to read this one." End result -- surgery, and three days in the hospital. Hospital Experiences -- While waiting in the ER waiting room, a couple ran in, "There's a lady having a baby outside." "Can you fill this out for triage?" "She's having a baby, NOW!" My surgeon, Dr. K., was very nice, He reminded me a little of the doctor on Everwood. The other doctor who saw me on rounds was down-right creepy. He came in, squinted his eyes, fixed me with an intense stare, and said "Elbow injuries, very bad.", then continued to stare at me for a full two minutes. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to respond or not. I said "Yes." After all, who am I to argue, I was the one in pain. He then gave me another of his serial killer stares before leaving. My RN tech dude was, -- well -- cool. He'd say, "Hey, you're awake, Cool!" "Hey, you drank all that water, Cool!" "Hey, your temperature is normal, Cool!" The check-out administer called my room as I was getting ready to leave. She said, "You're not going to believe this, we've run your charge card but I can't bring the receipt up to you because the hospital is surrounded by police and they're not letting anyone come or go from this area." --------------------- Random thoughts -- Kimberly went to London with the drama club for spring break this week. We both got home on the same day. My trip to the hospital and her trip to London cost about the same, but she had more fun. When you are awakened from a dead sleep in the middle of the night, the sentence, "I'm taking your vital signs." sounds a lot like "Is that your bike outside?" I said, "I don't have a bike." If you've heard anything bad about hospital food, it's all true. It's hard to type one-handed. THANK YOU, BECKY, for the cake. |
| March 13, 2004 -- Happy Birthday. |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIMBERLY ! |
| March 12, 2004 -- Commercial break. |
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I have finally found a product that easily cleans the grout between the tiles.
I have tried many cleaning products but this one works the best. It's CLR (Calcium, Lime, Rust). Just spray it on, wait a few minutes and wipe it off. No intense scrubbing. The bottle does advise wearing gloves and using good ventilation but I think they all carry that warning, don't they? I did open the windows which was a good thing because it has a very strong, sickly sweet, lemony smell. I did not, however wear gloves. My skin did feel a little tingly afterward. In fact, I may no longer have fingerprints. Lloyd said, "You have to wear the gloves because the chemicals can get into your bloodstream." Really? Yikes! Cause of death -- a clean kitchen. |
| March 11, 2004 -- I'll need change, please. |
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In the news - a woman thought she could cash a novelty million dollar bill at Wal Mart.
Well, gee, I have one of those, too, but, silly me, I've just been using it as a bookmark. I never even thought of going to Wal Mart. Seriously, it's hard to believe anyone could be so dumb. I mean, even if such a bill existed, she really thought Wal Mart would keep that kind of money in their cash registers? And that no one would be suspicious?!! Jeez. 
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| March 9, 2004 -- Picture perfect. |
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Whew, I am done!
(Well, not completely, but at least with one section.) After endless hours of locating pictures, scanning, editing, and organizing them, I now, (about seven thousand pictures later), have a digital family photo album covering the last thirty years. I am finally done with the immediate family portion of the album, the pictures of my children, and am now working on the pictures of my own childhood and those of the extended family. My advice to anyone with a camera is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS label photos with names and dates as soon as you get them. You think you will remember, but time goes by and what was once so familiar is not anymore. I find myself resorting to methods such as examining the length of hair, counting candles on birthday cakes, or comparing wallpaper and carpet patterns, all while squinting at a three inch black and white photo. I may be rewriting history a bit, but it's the best I can do. In the end I don't suppose it matters if I don't get all the details right. I mean, who really cares if we went to Yosemite this year or that year? |
| February 14, 2004 -- Be My Valentine. |
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Folklore has it that the first valentine was a note sent by the Catholic Bishop, Saint Valentine, from his jail cell to his sweetheart signed "From your Valentine," an expression still widely used on valentine cards today.
Americans started exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. The first mass produced valentines were sold in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. (I don't know if she was related to Hallmark but I'm sure they are eternally grateful to her.) About one billion valentine cards are sent each Valentine's Day, making it second only to Christmas as a card-sending holiday. Happy Valentine's Day! |
| February 13, 2004 -- Paraskevidekatriaphobia. |
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Today is Friday the thirteenth, the day when two symbols of bad luck collide resulting in a double whamy for those of a superstitous nature. Of course it has a name. Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of friday the thirteenth. I wonder what the fear of mispronouncing long words is called.
The belief that thirteen is unlucky is especially interesting because it is so widely held. Ride up in the elevator of a tall building and you often find there is no thirteenth floor. I find this odd because aparently it is not the actual existance of a thirteenth floor that is unlucky but just the name of it. As long as we call it the 14th floor, it's okay. One funny byproduct of this I found when listening to my friend's three year old count ("...10, 11, 12, 14, 15"). "She always leaves out thirteen because it's not on the elevator buttons in the apartment where we live.", her mom explained. It is also interesting how superstitions vary from place to place. For example, a black cat crossing your path in the U.S. is unlucky, but in England is considered lucky. Perhaps we should start calling black cats by a different name. If we call them brown cats will they no longer be unlucky here? Of course, then our children wouldn't be able to learn their colors either. P.S. The fear of cats is ailurophobia. Certainly nothing we are afflicted with. 
Here's a new picture of Angel Kitty for You-Know-Who-You-Are. (Click to enlarge.) |
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