Grown-Ups

R. and I are trying to become grown-ups. We put it off for a long, long time. Last week we took a very interesting step and went to an info session at an adoption agency.
So there you go! However, actually for most people acquiring a little bundle of joy is step 2. Let's not forget step 1--which is buying a house. We're trying to do that one as well. K'ching! K'ching! $$$$
More specifics as they become available.

I'm Back

Well, there's been a bit of a hiatus so I guess an update is due. Lessee, well first of all we cleaned up the yard, including the left over leaves from last year. A day later, whaddya know, there are about 20 little nip bottles in a heap under the tree. Now, that is really a bit much. Especially cause they are yucky beverages such as peppermint schnapps. Now we're mad! Now we're going to get even! We just need to figgur out how. We did clean up all the little bottles and now the yard is completely clean. I'm sure it won't last.

Camera
R. and I bought a digital camera. That was exciting. Now I can post photos. Maybe it's time to transform the blog...

Me and My Insides
Well, one reason I've been gone is that I'm having all this fibroid trouble. If you don't know what fibroids are consider yourself lucky. I won't disturb your innocence with a long explanation. Last Friday I had a test that showed that one of the little devils is in a bad spot. Hence the trouble. It was kinda neat since I could see it all on screen. The procedure itself was no big deal, and the nurses and Dr. Fine were really great. Unfortunately I had an intense reaction to a medication I had to take ahead of time. So the night before I had about 8 hours of intense cramping, throwing up, nausea and so forth and so on. All that kinda wiped me out for the next 3 or 4 days. In a week or so I'll have the results of the biopsy and also a recommendation from Dr. F. about what to do about the damn things. (In case you noticed that I mentioned a biopsy below, well, this was number two, the first one didn't get the right cells due to the positioning of troublesome fibroid.) Ugh. Enough!

A Half-Assed Blogger

is what I am. Well, that's the way it goes I guess. I don't write much, but then no one is reading much and I haven't had time to visit my favorite blogs lately anyway. I always have this problem of way too many projects going on at one time. Mayb there will be more time for blogs at some later date. I've also thought that I should just blog about one topic, like the commute or the things that get thrown in our yard and that way I wouldn't need so much time. Speaking of which...

Update on the Things in the Yard
I've mentioned before that we live next to a historic church (very lovely, built in 1830) in the back of which is a small drop-in shelter which is separated from our side yard by a fence. I don't think the people who drop-in are necessarily homeless, but they are down on their luck and maybe crazy and sometimes drunk or high. ANYWAY! They hang outside the shelter smoking and talking (and sometimes drinking to judge by the bottles and cans in the yard) and they pitch miscellaneous things over the fence.

When the snow melted there was a litter of trash including a large replica of a parrot (which I mentioned in a previous posting) in the corner of the yard closest to the church. It was mostly arranged under a small pine tree like a sad parody of Christmas. I kept thinking I would clean it up on the first nice day, but to be honest a week or so elapsed. (Many people would read this and think how glad they are not to have me as a neighbor I don't doubt.)

This past Saturday R. mentioned that there was a bagel on the roof of the church, which we can see clearly from our 2nd floor kitchen door. I poked my head out and there was a bagel--deposited by a tired (no doubt) squirrel who came back for it later in the day. Then I noticed that the trash in the yard including the parrot was gone. Probably the landlord came over to clean up. Five seconds later, I noticed that there was another bagel and a selection of dinner rolls scattered around the yard. Why and by whom I don't know. Intended as squirrel food? Bird food? No one fed the birds when there was snow on the ground. Why now? It's almost as if some force in the universe abhors our yard to be empty and just reached for the nearest things at hand.
Stay tuned for the next update on the things in the yard.

Dish of Me

As I write, there is a little section of me growing in a container somewhere. It's interesting to think that my little cells can keep on growing without me. They once were part of me, but not any more. They don't need me--the main Me from whence they came. They don't need my good taste in books, my excellence in baking tofu and making black beans and rice, my many thoughts on the morning commute, my friendly good humor, they just keep on growing and reproducing themselves! They can reproduce themselves, and apparently I can't! That's ironic isn't it. What are they eating I wonder. Funny to think that I don't know. I know what I eat and what I'd like to eat if I wasn't trying to lose weight. I have a new cookbook from which I am going to make R. and myself a spinach salad with warm, sundried tomato dressing. Since I'm told they are growing, someone must be feeding them--probably not spinach salad though, probably something weird and labratory-ish that wouldn't appeal to me. Freaky!

The hope, and I am told, the expection, is that they are growing in a nice, neat orderly fashion. I'll know how they are doing in about a week.

Feverish

Just two weeks ago (or something like that) we were still digging out from the lastest snow storm. Now, suddenly, it's Spring and temperatures are in the 40's. (10C or thereabouts, right?) Last weekend was amazingly sunny. Spring fever hit me hard. The change of seasons is nice to be sure, but it makes me crazy for a few days: I hate my clothes, I hate the dust in the house, I hate the cat fur that is suddenly everywhere in the house, I hate being in the house, I hate the leftover piles of dirty snow outside of the house. In other words, I am incredibly restless! Today is grey and a little more winteresque so I am calmer. Luckily the feverishness hasn't kept me from working on paintings.

Fibroidal
We are hot on the trial of those nasty growing, clutching things that are taking the wind out of my sails: fibroids. Everytime I mention seeing Dr. Fine (who is very nice and wonderful) R. says: "When are you going to see Dr. Howard?" This is a reference to the Three Stooges in case you don't get it. More about this at a later time. It seems that some treatment is in order.

Martha here, there, everywhere

Previously I reported that Lion Brand yarn company was developing a poncho just like Martha Stewart's. Well, the other day I went to the Interweave Knits magazine website and there's another Martha inspired poncho! I think of Interweave Knits as a pretty classy mag, but who could resist the thrill? No one evidently. Designed by Lily Chin, they call it "The Freedom Poncho." I think the "Jailbird Poncho" or the "Caged Heat Poncho" would be a more fun name, but then, that's just me.

Painting, Knitting, Eating

That title is sort of a pun on a title of a painting I like by Philip Guston: "Painting, Smoking, Eating." I like all those Philip Guston cartoon-y painting.

I finally got my painting mojo back thanks to my friend N. who kindly agreed to take a look last week at all my work. (Small oil paintings on panels. I think of them as being paintings of things you've never seen before. Other people might describe them as abstract.) Just seeing them all laid out and talking about them and seeing that I am getting to something with all those colors and strange little shapes inspired me once again. So I've been painting with great excitement...really the first time since the fall that I've felt like I know what I'm doing. I have a goal now (thanks to N. for the suggestion) which is to have ten really good pieces ready to make into slides by June. I have about five pretty good ones now.

Tired and Sick
So where have I been? Welp. For once thing, work has been kicking my ass...I've been busy every minute, just no time to blog, and that means that at night I am extra tired and just make dinner and flop onto the couch to knit and watch DVDs. After slaving furiously over the computer all day I have a hard, hard time turning it on at night. Y'know I thought this blogging thing would be perfect for taking a little break from work on those dull afternoons, I never dreamed my dull afternoons would vanish so soon!

And then, last week I had the vapors and that took the wind out of my sails for a few days. I was really dragging. I'm feeling better now, although I need to go back to the doctor next week and it's not entirely clear what's going on. But anyway...here I am and oh yes, I forgot to mention the eating. Now that spring is here I am determined to loose some of the fat that has draped itself across my midsection. So, I am cutting back, waaaay back.
By the way, Happy Spring!