chickadee_lilac

Oh well...

2008-09-16T17:56:16Z

...so much for posting more often! ;)

Things are going pretty well for me, all in all. I'm still dating a wonderful guy, I have a new furnace (so no worries about heat this winter), I'm feeling well from March's surgery and have really come to grips with much of the "stuff" that's gone on over the past year or so (that'll be a work in progress, I think).

Recent happenings, let's see. Stace & I spent a weekend in NYC, went to a Saturday matinee of "Young Frankenstein" - we had a fantabulous time, loved it! The whole weekend was a whole lot of great, we did a lot of stuff, including a street festival, goth/industrial club (those NYC peeps don't know how to dance!), Stardust diner (ton o'fun), people watching in the Village on a sunny Sunday afternoon (indescribable!)...simply lovely. This weekend I hosted a very small BBQ at my place, at the Stace's insistence. I guess I was reluctant for a couple of reasons...one, I wasn't nearly as far along with the house repairs/painting/gardening as I had wanted to be. Two, it was always Dad who had the parties there, or at least he was always there when I had the summer parties all those years ago. I felt a bit off, truth be told, not having the Old Man around...Stace helped me a lot with that, though he doesn't know it...he prolly does now! ;) Sunday we went to the NY RenFest, met up with a couple of his gaming friends and their adorable little boy who is all of 1 1/2 years old...blond-haired,blue eyes, the big baby cheeks that just scream to be pinched (lightly!!).

We had our pic taken at least eight times that we know of. I think the link will copy here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_earl/2861976254/
*shrugs* if not, I'll post it some other way. I think we look damned fine! :)

Enough for now, gotta get some work done.

Back Again :)

2008-07-28T01:12:45Z

At the Nick & Patty's BBQ/Asylum Reunion yesterday, Trish reminded me that I really need to keep this up. I stopped & thought...gee, yeah, it's been months since I've posted.

So far, all good stuff is going on - yay! I think I'm due for a change, given the hell that was 2007 into 2008.

- I'm back working both jobs, both at Bayer and at the hospital. I started only this week at the hospital again, so I'm still juggling my schedule to make that fit. I've not been working there since December.

- I'm dating this wonderful guy who matches me on a lot of levels...pagan, poly, sci-fi (even to the same books we're reading at the same time), sense of humor, renfest...so many things, I'm still amazed at our high degree of compatibility. He's a software engineer who is, unfortunately, away for 8 weeks at a time, then home for four, then away for 8, etc. He just surprised me with tickets for Young Frankenstein!! I'm still blown away. He rocks! :)

- I have my kitties all here now. Two indoor (Mouse & Boo) and Spitz (formerly dad's kitty). It makes life interesting when Spitz decides he wants to be inside...the three of them are *so* funny.

- The house I owned with Kirk is sold, we closed in May. We saw very little profit on it, because of the lousy housing market, but at least it's sold and we can both move on with our lives.

- I have a therapist with whom I've worked very hard to get my head together again. I'm blessed that she doesn't try to fix the stuff I think is normal, but most of society would want it "fixed."

- Best of all is that I have incredibly amazing family & friends who have all helped to keep me together. I am truly blessed.

We'll see how well I can keep this journal up to date. My priority is emailing Stacey (that boyfriend I mentioned above), 'cause he's on a radar rig in the middle of the Pacific. We email daily, so must make sure that I do that before anything else. :) I'll try to do snippets of anything going on, to keep ya'll informed of what I'm up to.

Back to Work

2008-05-07T00:16:03Z

OMG, I can't believe I was so excited about going back...I musta been outta my mind...yeah, that's it, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...temporary insanity brought on by severe cabin fever.

Ugh. I was stupid on Monday and put in a 12.5 hr day. Not too smart, was it? But dang, I had 2600 new emails in my inbox! I managed to winnow it down to a little over 500. So now it'll be a fight between the new emails coming in from all directions and trying to get through the old ones. Plus new projects, plus dealing with the temp who is also sitting at my desk. Nice enough, but she needs to logged on to my computer as well, so we keep switching back & forth. I don't like sharing my toys or my space. Get out. Now. Before I hurt you.

Today was much better, after I checked in with the company nurse and she gave me hell for staying so long yesterday. I shoulda left at 4:30 today, but managed 5pm. Pretty good, I think. Heh, I mostly left 'cause the servers I needed had crashed...the Help Desk said, "we're working on the issue, no estimated uptime." Great. Ta, I'm outta there.

I'm praying that the water test comes back OK for bacteria the Kenvil house I still own with my ex. The first test came back fine *except* for slightly elevated bacterial levels. Damn. So I had someone come last Wed to shock the well (read that as pour bleach down the wellhead). Then you let it all sit for 24 hours, run all the faucets until you smell chlorine, then let it all sit for two more hours so that the chlorine has a chance to kill all the little buggies in the pipes, tank and hot water heater. Then you have to run the water until you no longer smell chlorine...it took four days of running the outside hose. I met the water testing dude at the house Monday morning, handed him $95 more bucks for the privilege of testing the water again. We should have the results Thursday. We're scheduled to close on the Kenvil house at 2:15 Monday afternoon. Please please please let the water pass!!! I gotta have closure on this whole house thing. It's draining me physically, emotionally and financially.

On a totally different note, I saw Ironman last Friday afternoon with my brother. It was friggin' fabulous! I loved Robert Downey Jr, I thought he was perfect. The effects were great, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I wanna see it again!!!!!!!!!!

I Love This Piece...

2008-05-02T12:48:32Z

This is what going out dancing to QXT's means for me. I wish I could have expressed it as well.

We have come to be danced
Not the pretty dance
Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
But the claw our way back into the belly
Of the sacred, sensual animal dance
The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
The holding the precious moment in the palms
Of our hands and feet dance.

We have come to be danced
Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance
But the wring the sadness from our skin dance
The blow the chip off our shoulder dance.
The slap the apology from our posture dance.

We have come to be danced
Not the monkey see, monkey do dance
One two dance like you
One two three, dance like me dance
but the grave robber, tomb stalker
Tearing scabs and scars open dance
The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.

We have come to be danced
Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle
But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
Shaman shakin' ancient bones dance
The strip us from our casings, return our wings
Sharpen our claws and tongues dance
The shed dead cells and slip into
The luminous skin of love dance.

We have come to be danced
Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
But the meeting of the trinity, the body breath and beat dance
The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
The mother may I?
Yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance
The olly olly oxen free free free dance
The everyone can come to our heaven dance.

We have come to be danced
Where the kingdom's collide
In the cathedral of flesh
To burn back into the light
To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray
To root in skin sanctuary

We have come to be danced

We have come.

by Jewel Mathieson

Gift

2008-05-01T16:51:32Z

I'm outside, raking and doing misc yardwork, to celebrate Beltane. I look down on the walkway, and there is a big piece of robin's eggshell, about 2/3 of one. The promise that was given on Ostara, of new life, has been fulfilled by the hatching of this egg. What a wondrous Beltane gift.

Happy Beltane!

2008-05-01T15:31:39Z

I love this time of year, savoring the feel of life returning to the earth. The scents (achoo!), the textures, the colors, sounds.

Thank you, 1cmf and one crazy mother for their Mayday party last Saturday. I had a great time, it was lovely to see everyone!

Happy Birthday!

2008-04-23T16:13:28Z

Oh hey, happy-happy birthday 1cmf!! I'll be sure to give you an extra big hug on Saturday! I hope you have a good day today!

Home at Last!

2008-04-23T00:35:40Z

I've definitely decided that Florida, while OK to visit, is NOT the place for me. Too flat, too monochrome (read that as nothing but friggin' palm trees), too boring. It's a great place to recuperate, 'cause there's nothing to do, except sit by the pool or just putz around...or drink. There's lots of that going on down there. The job market down there is truly horrible, many people are out of work. So they drown their sorrows, trying to forget about the mortgage, car payments, credit cards. It was rather depressing to be there, truth be told.

Nancy's hubby brought me home just as dusk was settling in. I was totally freaking out at the *colors* of the trees and flowers! You'd think I'd never seen spring before. And the scent of the blooming flowers, like ambrosia. I got home around 8 or so last night. The peepers were singing their little froggy hearts out! I just sat outside and listened, inhaling Spring. That is, until Spitz found me. OMG, the poor kitty truly acted like I had abandoned him - he yowled when he saw me, and ran right over. He wouldn't be parted from me for neither love nor money...I brought him into the house; I just didn't have the heart to leave him outside when he so desperately craved attention. I warmed up something to eat, sat on the couch with Spitz madly purring on my lap. Then it hit me, hard, how very much I had missed my home. My lifestyle. My stuff. Driving my beautiful Seraphina. Tears of joy spilled down my face, tears of thankfulness, of love, of true contentedness that it was all still here, waiting for me.

And then today, my beautiful Seraphina wouldn't start. Dead battery. Apparently, she didn't like sitting in the driveway for three weeks. I'd thought about asking my neighbors to please start her up every week, but promptly forgot. Providentially, my buddy Joe was playing hooky from work today, and was online...he lives nearby and came over & jump-started the battery. That was all she needed! I told Joe to thank his wife for letting me borrow him. She says that she gets that all the time, 'cause he's pretty handy to have around. Good thing for me! LOL

Hmmm, what else? Oh, I had asked my doctor about getting one of those permanent handicapped plaques you hang from the rear-view mirror. I don't need it all the time, but when the weather changes, or I zig when I should have zagged, I really really need it. He agreed, and it came while I was away. That's a huge relief, especially now that I have metal in two places; double the fun when the weather changes! Yay, won't that just be ducky? *pfeh*

Well, it's time to get some wine and go outside to listen to the peeper chorus. I can't imagine a more beautiful serenade on a lovely spring evening.

Happy Stuff

2008-04-18T13:49:16Z

Sometimes it's the things you're not looking for that really make your heart sing.

Before my surgery, I has mostly lost the use my left hand and arm. This morning, without even realizing it, I took a 1/2 gallon of milk out of the fridge...with my left hand! I suddenly stopped and looked at what I was *holding*...tears of gratefulness welled...I have no words to describe the joy in my soul.

Unexpectedly, too, I heard from my partner...I'm not worried about him anymore. :)

On a different note: I gotta find me some other userpics when I post here...I'm getting tired of the same old thing...any suggestions where I can find some good icons?

It's Not All Bad Here

2008-04-13T14:24:30Z

OK, so I found something that I *really* like to do here in Florida. The neighbor has a boat, and took us out on it yesterday. It was fabulous day, the sun was playing tag with the clouds, the water was fairly smooth...yes, I wore my neck brace! We first went to a water-side restaurant, had sesame tuna for lunch...*yum*...and a melon colada *more yum*. There's a really interesting place to hang out if you have a boat. The sandbars that are exposed at low tide! The cypress trees encourage sand to gather, so even out in the bay area, amongst the little cypress tree islands, the water is, at most, only 2' deep. So it's a place where boats will come, anchor, and parties ensue! It's a family event, kids & dogs & even floating food vendors come and sell stuff. There were lotsa younger people, 20-somethings, out there, too. No restrictions on alcohol, or time. You could be out there at night, too. I can only imagine how incredibly beautiful it must be under the full moon, at low tide.

The water only came up to your knees where we anchored, although I didn't get out & wade, 'cause I was concerned that the current might make me lose my footing. (Yeah, I'm a little paranoid about anything that might ultimately interfere with my neck's healing.) We had such a great time - thank you, neighbor John! :) We got home around 4pm. I'm sporting a lovely deep sunburn, despite the tan I'd been working on for two weeks...*sigh*...it'll fade in a day or two, leaving me a nice dark tan. Ya'll are gonna hate me when you see me at onecrazymother & 1cmf's BBQ. *laughing happily*

The weather is changing today, from sunny and mid 80s to much cooler, like only in the 70s and cloudy. Oh, poor me! ;)

Still on Track!

2008-04-11T14:53:18Z

The house Kirk & I are selling is still on track for a May 13 closing! Whoohooo! The termite dude was there yesterday, no signs of the little critters, thankfully. Radon test is OK. Still haven't heard back about the results of the water test, even though they took the sample nearly *two* months ago...idiots. I told Kirk that the next time he spoke with the lawyer, he should mention it.

The only thing that might be a problem is that we can't find the oil tank. It might already be gone, but the guy that came to see if it's there couldn't find it, despite his fancy equipment. No sign of tank vent or even an opening to fill the tank. So we have to dig up the yard & follow the oil lines, if there are any. When I was still home, I was there when the guy hand dug a hole where the linesshould have been. He went down 33"...nothing. And when he put his sensors down the hole, nothing happened. We both think that the tank was removed, but there's no record of its being abated registered with the township. *sigh* So we have to have them dig up the yard. I hope that I'll be home before it happens, 'cause the digging will all happen in the flower beds. I want to rescue my coral bells, iris, hens and chicks...timing is everything!

Ten more days until I go home. You'd think I'd be happy to be here where it's warm and sunny and nothing to do. Sometimes I am. I'm bored. When I'm bored, I find stuff to do. Most likely it will be stuff that I probably shouldn't be doing. That's not good. So I force myself to sit and do more nothing.

Patience, Grasshopper, patience.

I don't do patience well, either. *sigh again*

Sorry, I gotta vent sometimes...I don't want to sound ungrateful to my sis & her husband, so I'm doing it here..venting I mean, not sounding ungrateful! Boy, talk about putting one's foot in one's mouth, huh? I'm very grateful that they're willing to put up with me for three weeks, letting me heal & rest. Heh, I'm getting some great tanlines, I must admit. ;)

chickadee_lilac @ 2008-04-10T19:27:00

2008-04-10T23:28:08Z

Your Score: Flirty Air Lover

You scored 22.

Your sexuality comes through in the way you communixate -- through your gestures and your inventive ideas -- just like an air sign. To you, sex is simply another way to connect and share energy with your fellow human beings. While you're exceptionally expressive, you may downplay your emotions in romantic relationship, keeping an aloof distance as a defense against getting hurt. That's not to say that you're no fun between the sheets. Quite to the contrart, you're a playful, flirtatiouslover, stimulated by the interplay of two personalities and by some degree of light-hearted debate. A little dirty talk and some intellectual fireworks will keep you aroused!

Turn-on Tips: Entice and tempt like a mischievous Gemini and turn on the magnetic charm of Libra. Like gregarious Aquarius, spice things up with experimental new techniques.

Pls do rate my test, and leave me messages if you have any constructive criticism.

Link: The Astrological Passion: What kind of lover are you? Test written by shrusti on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test
View My Profile(shrusti)

Oh yeah...

2008-04-09T13:42:54Z

...I'm doing pretty well, lounging here at my sister & hubby's place in Florida. It's usually warm (low to mid 80s), but has been cloudy lately. Today is supposed to be sunny, so I'm gonna get my butt outside very soon and do my very best lizard imitation.

The feeling is slooowwwwlllyyyy coming back into my thumb. Sometimes it feels totally fine, others, well, not so fine. I've been very very good about wearing my cervical collar when I'm in the house (includes sleeping), and my cervical brace when I'm out of the house. I come home on April 21, then back to work May 5. *sigh* I can't wait to get back to work...four months is 'way too long to be out...I'm incredibly restless. I feel more & more like my brain is dribbling out my ears the longer I stay out. *bigger sigh* I feel a bit homesick, too...weird, eh? I miss my own bed, my stuff, my cat, normal trees, terrain that isn't flat with weird flora...ah well, I'm really not complaining...LOL, more along the lines of whining, I think! *rueful grin*

So anywho. I hope to see many of you at onecrazymother and 1cmf's MayDay party. I surely hope it'll be warm outside!! ;)

Some Quotes that Struck a Chord

2008-04-09T13:24:14Z

I've not heard from my partner/Dom Master Joe in over two weeks. Frankly, I'm worried that something has happened to him. All of his email accounts are down, he's not returning my voicemails. This isn't like him at all.

I came across a couple of quotes that I'd like to put out there...maybe he's reading my LiveJournal, maybe not.

"I make mistakes. I am out of control, and at times hard to handle; but if you can't handle me at my worst you don't deserve me at my best." - Marylin Monroe

"It's hard to wait around for something you know might never happen, but it's even harder to give up on something when you know it's everything you want." - The Eagles

Yeah, Baby!! ;)

2008-03-29T22:10:04Z

Your Score: Luxury Sedan

You scored 60 Classiness, 85 Coolness, 56 Ingenuity, and 77 Ego!

You are the luxury sedan. You have pretty much everything the mature and common sense person strives to have in themselves and in a partner. You are cool, suave, amazingly classy, hardworking, original, and overall awesome. You have worked your way through life and rank and are allowed to have the ego that you do-- since you always strive for perfection. You, my friend, are the elite.

Link: The What Car Fits You Best Test written by snowystatic on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test
View My Profile(snowystatic)

Visions

2008-03-29T00:05:17Z

I was going through one of my old journals, and found my notes from Eagle Clan, Twilight Covening, October 2006. One of our exercises was to be open to a vision of what will be. There were four things that I "saw":

1. Lose my father
2. Part ways with Kirk
3. Still be with my current company, and be well respected & even promoted
4. Become more involved with bodywork

All four of them have happened. It's kinda freaking me out a little bit...

Memories

2008-03-27T21:05:02Z

I hate tax time. Today, I hate it even more than usual, because it's forcing me to relive all of the doctor apts, tests and agonizing decisions we made with my dad. But I have to do it, to file taxes for the 6.5 months he was alive in 2007.

I hate this, I can't even begin to describe it.

I watched yolen's posting of the Marilyn Manson American Sign Language interpretation of "This is the New Shit" about 5 times. I felt better after that, the video really is brilliant.

Three-Week Post-Op Report

2008-03-25T01:03:56Z

The neurosurgeon is very pleased with my progress - hooray! He said the plate is exactly as he placed it, no movement or shifting has occurred. I've had minimal soreness at the incision and my neck, although mighty sore muscles that attach to the neck. I had no hoarseness and again, minimal difficulty swallowing. All very good news. I go back to my day job on May 5. I can't go back to work at the hospital until July. The doc says it'll take 4 months for the bones to fuse sufficiently to withstand my doing bodywork. *sigh* OK, it's only really another 3 months. And I'll be pretty busy. He gave his official OK for me to spend the rest of my time recuperating in sunny Florida, to visit my sister & her hubby!! I fly down on Monday, 3/31. I'll be down there about 3 weeks. OMG, to be warm and be able to sun myself like a lizard on a hot rock...*prrrrr*...it'll be like heaven. I must avoid flexion and extension of my neck as much as possible (that means bending my head forward as well as tilting it backwards). It puts too much stress on the plate that's screwed into four of my vertebrae, which in turn inhibits the bones from fusing. Of course, no lifting or carrying heavy objects, nothing at all on my shoulders (ie, pocketbook must be held under my arm, not slung on my shoulder), no reaching or stretching for things. Heh, I even asked about oral sex...the doc is great. He wasn't in the least bit embarrassed, took my question very seriously. At first he said it would be OK, but then as he thought about the motion of my neck and potential force of my partner, we concluded that, no, it's not OK right now. But "conventional" sex is OK, as long as there's no pressure on my neck in any way. I *could* go out dancing, if I really felt the need, but only with the heavy black postural collar I've mentioned before. And "no jumping about." I really thought about going to the club on Saturday...I might still go, but just to see people I know, and do some of the slower dances. Nothing too active. We'll see how I feel as the weekend draws closer.

I can also start to do light-duty chores around the house, like fill in nail holes with wood putty, or clean out my flower beds. No raking or pulling weeds, just cleaning out the leaves, picking up smaller branches. I *must* wear the big honking heavy duty collar if I'm doing anything other than sleeping, reading, or watching TV. Even computer I should wear it, to help keep my head from flexing too much while typing.

Driving is the most difficult and uncomfortable thing I'm allowed to do. Changing lanes is frightening, because I can't really turn enough to make sure no one is beside me, and we all have blind spots with our mirrors. I'm only permitted to drive 1/2 hr to 45 min at most at any one time. That's plenty to get me to where I want to be. Well, except to my Master's place...that's 2-3 hours away, so that's not an option for me right now. *sigh* I surely hope that he can get away & visit us in FL like he hopes he can. That would be so lovely. And onecrazymother is hoping to visit, as well...Another lovely thing to look forward to.

I'm exhausted, it's been a very long day. Oh, and the oil tank guy *still* can't confirm or deny that there is or isn't an oil tank buried somewhere on the Kenvil house property. We spent two hours there today...he hand dug a hole 33" deep where the oil line should have been, and there was nothing. He put the sensors down in the hole...nothing. The house is officially out of attorney review, let's see what the house inspection and final lawyer's statement says about it.

Tomorrow I go for my 2nd allergy patch test, 3rd one on Wed. I wonder what else I'm allergic to, in addition to my little furball here and dustmites?

Happy Easter and Blessed (belated) Ostara!!

2008-03-23T17:35:58Z

What Your Easter Egg Says About You

You are whimsical, spontaneous, and fun loving.

You connect well with people, but nature is your true love.

Changing locations and scenery is important to your creativity.

You are inspired by the surroundings around you

The Easter Egg Personality Test

Oh, Really...Neptune, eh?

2008-03-23T17:34:06Z

You Are From Neptune

You are dreamy and mystical, with a natural psychic ability.

You love music, poetry, dance, and (most of all) the open sea.

Your soul is filled with possibilities, and your heart overflows with compassion.

You can be in a room full of friendly people and feel all alone.

If you don't get carried away with one idea, your spiritual nature will see you through anything.

What Planet Are You From?

How Utterly Appropriate!

2008-03-19T22:08:47Z

OMG, this is *exactly* how I'm feeling my life is going right now! Even the art on the card shows the joyous light pouring out of me.

Blessed Ostara - spring is finally here!!!

You are The Sun

Happiness, Content, Joy.

The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.

Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.

The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

An Incredibly Wonderful Weekend

2008-03-17T01:30:16Z

You know that glorious glow you feel shining from your soul when you just know you've done the right thing? I am blessed because I have that feeling right now.

Dad had a collection of German steins, some fancy, others not so much. That, and a lot of owl figurines/statues (the owl is the symbol of the German men's organization he belonged to). He also had two of those felt hats that is part of the German tradition, and a walking stick with various decorations on it. Oh, and various books on German history, poetry, etc. I didn't feel tied to any of these items, but didn't want to just toss 'em or give them to the Salvation Army. I called Dieter, one of dad's best friends from the German organization, and explained that I still had all of dad's stuff that needed to go back to the org. He and his wife came out this afternoon, and were absolutely *thrilled* to take everything...it's a tradition of the men's org that whenever a member passes on, the items the family wants to find homes for are put out on a table at the beginning of the next meeting. Whoever wants the stuff can just pick it up and bring it home. Dieter felt that all of the items I had would most likely be gone in just the one evening. I'm thrilled to death - that org meant the world to dad, they were his best friends. This feels so right, to give back to those that meant so much to him. I was in tears by the time Dieter and his wife left. Dad is happy with what I did, I'm sure...I can feel it.

To top off that happy glow, I just had my hot stone massage. My back feels a bit loosened, but it's going to take a while to train the muscles to their new positions. It felt sooooooo good during the session, though.

The carpenter fixed the leaky roof yesterday, as well as the damage the raccoon had done the other night. We went down to the house Kirk & I still have, and he fixed a few minor things - we just ran out of time. He'll come back next weekend to fix the joist and the cracks in the basement walls.

It has been a fabulous weekend, all around. hmmm, a perfect weekend would have included time with my Master Joe, but, well, ya can't have everything, now can you?

Best Layed Plans...

2008-03-14T22:44:11Z

I had a simple list of things to do today:
- sleep in as long as I could
- be at the dealership by 10:30 (no rush hour driving *shudders*) for an oil change and to see why my low tire pressure message came on (I've been having issues with the sensors)
- Stop at Staples and buy a new shredder (no home should be without one)
- get a hot stone massage to relax all these stressed muscles
- sign the offer papers that Kirk had picked up from the realtor, so the process can move into attorney review
- come home, collapse with some nice happy painkillers.

I should have known the day would go awry when I was awakened 'way before 6am by the sound of scratching and clawing outside my window. I look out and there's a raccoon on the roof, pulling at the Tyvek & incomplete siding. I dunno fer shure what he was looking for, but I smacked the wall next to him, and instead of running off, he comes up to the glass and is all curious, looking in at me. Damn. Gotta get the siding finished & sealed, or else I'm gonna have a furry tenant. To do that, I have to call Scott, who had fallen off the face of the planet some months ago. He knows how to do this stuff, has the break with which to bend the aluminum properly, etc. No one has been able to reach him for months. The cat hears me banging around upstairs, and starts yowling...it's 6:15am. No way am I going to be able to get back to sleep now. I do my meditations, work the tennis ball to help break up the tight muscles, then take a nice looonnngggggg hot shower (yay fixing the water pressure!), god that felt good. Got all my stuff together, including four $25 vouchers for the dealership, just in case. Got coffee and gas on the way, life is good. No traffic, thankfully. It was a nice easy ride in. They found a big piece of metal in one of the tires, took a while to fix and do the oil change. Hmmm, whom can I call...Scott! He has the key to armoring my house against raccoons. I really didn't expect to reach him...good thing I was sitting down when he picked up. He's been out of work for four months with osteonecrosis of his hip. That means that no blood has been getting to his hip joint - it's an excruciating condition. The entire hip joint needs to be replaced. We chatted a while, I made him laugh, which he admitted he hadn't done for a while. He said the break we need to complete the siding is at work...he doesn't need it at home. Austin will call his cousin and arrange for my brother to pick it up. Cool. The total bill for the car came to $138...so I only paid $38 for the tire repair/rotation/sensor reset and complete oil change/system checks. I'm still a happy camper.

Off I go to get my shredder. The real estate agent calls, almost frantic, she can't reach Kirk, we need to get the papers signed so it goes into attorney review. *sigh* OK, I told her that I would get my shredder, and come right over to the office to pick up the papers & track down Kirk. I called my friend who was supposed to give me my massage...can't reschedule for today...*huge sigh*...I get my shredder, the nice man not only carried it up to the register, but also out to the car. Something else that went right today! I drive over to the Weichert office, there are five copies of the stupid thing to sign and initial. I do all of that there. I go to the house, no sign of life, I'm glad I still have my house key. I put on a surgical mask (Kirk has the flu) and go in. The phone is two feet from his head, he never heard any of our calls...still zonked out at 1:30. I hung out a little, played with the kitties, then woke him up. He couldn't believe it was so late and that he slept through the multiple phone calls. Anyway, he signed the papers, I left, liberally using Purrell, I have no desire to come down with the flu on top of what I'm already dealing with. Run the papers back to the realtor. They're all happy now, I'm reasonably happy, only 'cause I got the process moving again. But at the cost of driving a whole lot more than I should have, and no massage.

Oh, and my poor Master Joe misread my OKC profile, and thought I had taken out any reference to him. He was kind of of upset/hurt, until I pointed out that he most certainly *was* still in my profile, told him exactly where to look. He apologized...the strain of the seven week separation is showing in both of us. I surely hope that he comes down next weekend, we really need to see each other. I'd go there, but can't handle a 2+ hour drive yet.

The final step of my plan for today was also successful...happy painkillers...I'm very sore, I'm going to lay down for a while. I hope ya'll have a good weekend.

What an Effort!

2008-03-13T02:40:28Z

I'm officially allowed to drive *short* distances starting today. I took advantage of that and drove 5 miles, a mere five easy miles to the allergist's office. I start patch testing next week, I truly think I'm allergic (or at least have a sensitivity) to cats. That would suck more than the vacuum cleaner Maid in "Spaceballs." I took the peak-flow meter test, 3 samples...my breathing is rated "A" (very good) - thank goodness, especially so soon after a 5-hr surgery. I feel it's a "good" breathing day. When I feel I'm having a "bad" breathing day, I call down there and take the test again to see where I am.

But I digress. OMG, you just don't realize how much twisting and turning and moving about you do when you drive. I wore my heavy-duty plastic & velcro contraption, just like I'm supposed to. I was merely uncomfortable by the time I got to the doc's office, but in agony by the time I got home. Took my valium and axocet...fell asleep, thankfully, until Kirk called at 7:45 to confirm the good news that we have come to a firm offer on the house, the papers will be ready tomorrow! Whoohooooo!!! We have a much better feeling about this guy than the last one. Single guy, already has a downpayment saved up, the mortgage company has already given him the green light. Now we just have to go through the steps of closing. Tentative date is April 30, but could be sooner, depending on if we find an oil tank buried in the yard. I hope not...

The water pressure problem is solved, too. One of my buddies at work gave me the name & number of a guy he used when he was having problems. The water pump dude came today, took a look at everything. The basic setup is fine - LOL - with dad, he was such a DIY guy, who knows what he did or didn't do correctly. There were two problems...the pressure sensor was faulty, and there wasn't enough air in the water tank to keep the pressure up even if the sensor were working correctly. So he goes to put in a new sensor...I pull a box off the shelf and say, oh you mean one of these? He gives me a funny look and says, yeah that's it exactly. Heh, one less part I have to pay for. He also replaced the water filter, I physically can't do it. Again, he pulled one out of his bag, and I said, oh, one of these? as I pulled one off the shelf. LOL - the look on his face was priceless! He also did a search outside and found out where my well-head is, it's under the driveway, under the "circle" feature in the paver blocks. All this for $100. I'm in heaven, I was dreading it'd be a whole lot more. He said that I should be all set, no more problems, to give him a call if something doesn't seem right.

So overall it really was a very good day. The pain from driving was a very good reminder that I have to be very careful, to take it slowly so that I can heal well & fully. The carpenter will be back Saturday to fix the leaky roof and a couple of other things here, then go down to the Kenvil house to fix a couple of things to bring it up to code.

I'm happy (though very uncomfortable at the moment), content...oh, the only black cloud on my horizon is that it's looking less and less likely that I'm going to be able to go to Rites of Spring this year. My return to work date is May 5. I'd be back to work for two weeks, and then off again for 1.5 weeks...after being out for over four months. Not good. I don't think that would go over particularly well with my boss. *big huge sigh* I've not missed Rites ever since we started going years ago. Maybe I'll go to some other festival, maybe Free Spirit or PSG, or something else that goes off later in the summer...I think Starwood is too much like roughing it right now, though, man, it'd be fun. But this is the year I have to really watch out for my health & be sure to heal up, mentally, emotionally & physically.

OK, I'm done now...the pain meds make me babble just a wee tiny bit... LOL :D

Spirit's Message

2008-03-09T22:30:21Z

OMG, this made tears run down my face, it is so very close to one of my spiritual "working" names. Wow, what a reminder...I haven't worked with this aspect of myself in months. I guess I can recognize a 'clue-by-four' when it smacks me in the head.

Your Score: Wind Dancer

You scored 73% Vata, 47% Pitta, 56% Kapha!

You are the Wind Dancer, driven by the Vata dosha.

You are joyful, lively, alert, quick to learn, self-confident, and have light, sound sleep, smooth skin, regular bowels, and light movement.

To maintain a healthy vata dosha, favor warm food and drink, sweet, sour, and salty tastes, You should favor hot, oily food, small and frequent meals, and rich foods. You should typically avoid cold foods and chilled drinks, as well as pungent, astringent, and bitter tastes. Avoid cold, light, and dry foods, infrequent meals, and excessive dieting.

If you wish to develop a more jittery outlook in life, consider eating more bitter foods. For a more warm, charismatic outlook in life, consider eating spicy foods. And finally, for a more tranquil outlook in life, consider eating sweeter foods.

Link: The Body Personality Test written by Scintilation on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test
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