Awwww....

Calf With Prosthetic Legs To Star In Children's Book

A calf who lost its back legs to frostbite has received prosthetic legs, thanks to its owner.

Hero the calf arrived back home in Virginia after getting two prosthetic legs from Texas A&M's veterinary school, who performed the surgery and created their first large animal prosthetics.

"Hero is defying all odds. Everyone said he would never make it this far and I'm the only one who said he will and I'm pretty proud of him," said owner Kitty Martin.

I'm sympathetic to these infected humanitarians, but is this really such a good idea?

Source: Flight leaves for Liberia to evacuate Americans infected with Ebola

The fear began just after news broke Thursday that a long-range business jet with an isolation pod left the United States for Liberia, where it will evacuate two Americans infected with Ebola.

Twitter exploded with questions about the deadly virus, which according to the World Health Organization is believed to have killed hundreds in four West African nations. And with reaction to news that two infected Americans would soon be on their way back to the United States.

"Why are they doing this?" Robin Hunter asked in a post on Twitter.

While U.S. officials have remained mum on the issue, a source told CNN that a medical charter flight left from Cartersville, Georgia, on Thursday evening.

A CNN crew saw the plane depart shortly after 5 p.m. ET. The plane matched the description provided by the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately known when the two Americans -- identified by the source as Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol -- would arrive in the United States, or where the plane would land.

Okay, despite working in a hospital, I am not a clinician or scientist. I don't understand the complete workings of the Ebola virus. But I do have a basic grasp of epidemiolgy and infection control, and Ebola is one really scary virus with dread consequences if it escapes control, Is it worth the risk? Also, several aid agencies are recalling their personnel from these countries, and that brings with it the chance that an infection will be missed until others are exposed. I assume quarantines will be imposed as a precaution, but still...this very well could be the way a terrible regional epidemic spreads to other areas. Yes, precautions can be taken, but no attempts at infection prevention can be considered foolproof, and it only takes one patient zero who slips through the precautions and you have a much bigger epidemic on your hands, in a disease which kills horribly and with a high mortality rate (50%-90%, depending on the strain), with no vaccine, and no assured and efficacious cure.

Three positive thoughts, day five

1. I am recovering nicely from surgery, for which I am grateful.
2. I have insurance which paid for the surgery, for which I am grateful.
3. I have a job and career that I love (and by the way, the job helps pay for the insurance that paid for my surgery, for which I'm grateful).

Okay, that's the last day. I think that was a nice exercise. It did rather make me feel better.

Stupidity makes me sad, as Sheldon would say

Language School Blogger Fired for Writing About Homophones

A social media specialist for a Utah language school that teaches English to non-native speakers says he was fired for writing a blog post about homophones—words that sound the same, but carry different meanings—because his boss was afraid readers would think it was about "gay sex."

Tim Torkildson told the Salt Lake Tribune that shortly after his lesson went up, Nomen Global Language Center owner Clarke Woodger fired him, complaining "now our school is going to be associated with homosexuality."

"I had to look up the word" Woodger said, according to the account Torkildson published on his personal blog, "because I didn't know what the hell you were talking about. We don't teach this kind of advanced stuff to our students, and it's extremely inappropriate. Can you have your desk cleaned out by eleven this morning? I'll have your check ready."

Okay, obviously there's probably more to the story than just this, but it seems to me the school's owner shouldn't be in the education business. And no, their school is now going to be associated with stupidity, not homosexuality, in my opinion. Here's the Salt Lake Tribune article:

Paul Rolly: Blogger fired from language school over ‘homophonia’

Homophones, as any English grammarian can tell you, are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings — such as be and bee, through and threw, which and witch, their and there.

This concept is taught early on to foreign students learning English because it can be confusing to someone whose native language does not have that feature.

But when the social-media specialist for a private Provo-based English language learning center wrote a blog explaining homophones, he was let go for creating the perception that the school promoted a gay agenda.

Here is Torkildson's personal blog, iwritetheblogggs. Thanks to Carl Hylin, who commented on a Facebook post about it, thereby allowing me to see it and be horrified.

I love this!

I'm not sure where this originated; it was on Facebook. Thanks to Vanessa Jarebu Irvin for sharing!

Three positive thoughts, day four

Positive things about my personality:
1. I am slow to anger and it is difficult for me to maintain that anger, even when wronged. I do not hold a grudge, sometimes to my own detriment, but generally I think this is healthier than otherwise.
2. My best quality is my loyalty.
3. Even on the worst days, I try to look at the small things in life that are absolute miracles.

Three positive thoughts, day three

Today's has to do with my gratefulness regarding the country of my birth, a happy accident for which I am very thankful:
1. Although my lot still falls short of being equal to a man's, I at least enjoy basic rights and freedoms sadly denied women of other places and times.
2. I have the right to practise the religion of my choosing.
3. I have a right to express my opinions freely without fear of suppression, imprisonment, or prosecution.

This would almost be funny, but it's not

Young hoodlums stealing popsicles from an ice cream truck--sounds like general mischief at first. Not so. Look at what was recovered. Items taken include seven guns. The kids do not 'meet the criteria for juvenile dentention' and have been released to their parents, who will hopefully have a come-to-Jesus meeting with them.

Four youths, ages 11 to 13, charged in Lexington burglaries, ice cream truck theft

Lexington police say they have arrested four juveniles, ages 11 to 13, who allegedly committed a series of burglaries and an ice cream truck theft in the Masterson Station-McConnell's Trace area.

Each was charged Monday with one count of second-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree burglary and two counts of second-degree burglary, police said Tuesday.

Police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said officers recovered a variety of missing items, including seven guns, three laptop computers and two computer gaming systems during their investigation. Additional charges are possible, Roberts said.

It's very sad

that you could just be enjoying a nice walk on the beach and a plane falls out of the sky and kills you. It's a freak accident, and I don't understand it, really. I do know I feel horrible for this wife and mother who was simply on a pleasant vacation to celebrate her wedding anniversary and now has lost both her husband and her child.

Oceana Irizarry dies after being struck by crashing plane

A girl who was struck by a plane that crash landed on a Florida beach on Sunday and killed her father has died of her injuries, police have said.

Oceana Irizarry, 9, was walking with her father Ommy, a US Army first sergeant, on a beach in Venice on Sunday when the plane struck them.

I found this on Facebook and had to share

I edited slightly. It originally said 'sheephearders', which of course, isn't a word.

Beautiful

Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

I would like to see each and every one of these libraries in person. I especially like the greenery at the Central Library of Vancouver, Canada. Maybe someday.

Lest we forget

The Tragic Futility of World War I: A century on, we're still paying the price.

If you find human behavior discouraging today, consider what happened a century ago. A Martian might have gazed down upon Europe in 1914 and seen a peaceful, prosperous continent with a shared culture. Pretty much everyone had enough to eat. The English listened to Wagner, Germans savored Shakespeare, Russian aristocrats mimicked the French, Mozart and Italian opera were loved by all. Then, Europe imploded.

Ten days before Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, prompting the descent into the Great War, “people everywhere were working, resting, eating, sleeping, dreaming of nothing less than of war,” a British political scientist wrote in The Atlantic the following year. “War came upon them like a thunderclap.”

I particularly like this paragraph:

It was a sad, pointless war, for which we’re still paying a price. A hard-hearted peace treaty and a ravaged economy produced a “lost generation” of young Germans and led directly to the rise of Hitler and an even uglier worldwide conflagration. The secret Sykes-Picot Agreement reached by Britain and France in 1916 drew arbitrary boundary lines across the postwar Middle East—around Iraq, for instance—that are returning deadly dividends to this day. The toppling of the Russian monarchy and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire created a balkanized Europe that, as recently as the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over strife-torn Ukraine, pains us still. The world was a nastier place after the war than before it.

100 years since World War I: Could it happen again today?

One hundred years ago today, Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in retaliation for the assassination one month earlier of his heir apparent, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by a Serbian pan-Slavic nationalist. What might otherwise have remained a regional conflict between the dying Hapsburg Empire and one of its former holdings instead became, through a tangle of alliances and a global power imbalance, two world wars that began in 1914 and ended in 1945, with a 21-year intermission for the Jazz Age and the Great Depression. Civilian and military casualties for the two wars approached 100 million – roughly the entire population of the United States as of July 1914.

3 important lessons learned from World War I

The hallowed ground of World War I, then and now uses an interesting technique to show pictures of the time, and swiping to pictures of the same areas now.

World War One: Every Man Remembered database launched

The Royal British Legion has started an online campaign to gather tributes to every Commonwealth serviceman and woman who died in World War One.

A total of 1,117,077 service personnel from what was then the British Empire died in the war, which began in 1914.

The outbreak of the First World War reminds us why we need a peace movement

Today marks one hundred years since Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. And so began four years of hell in Europe. The failure of diplomacy to prevent war and the inability of elites to prophesy its cost was an indictment of absolutism. Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia – whose combined ambitions in the East largely engineered the war – were monarchies in which too few people of too little calibre enjoyed too much power.

My first thought when I the news of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 broke was of the Lusitania. The thing about being trained as a historian is that you think in patterns, in waves of repetition, and analyse the similarities and difference in historical events. I may not remember what I ate for lunch yesterday, but my historical memory is long, and the things other people forget over time seem very real to me.

I'm not saying we'll be drawn into the Ukrainian conflict like we were into World War I, or that our world is heading for another World War. But there are things that historians hold their breath for when they encounter them in the present, wondering if diplomacy will hold, wondering if we've never quite escaped, as the one piece put it, nations 'in which too few people of too little calibre enjoyed too much power'. There's a general unrest among the have-nots these days, and the haves seem to get fewer and more out of touch from the have-nots. There are fine, noble people using their wealth to better humanity and our world--but increasingly it is less about wealth of individuals and more about corporations. Our food, our water, our very lives, are controlled by corporations that flood our political agendas with money for their own good, engineer our food, frak our resources, market to our children, and in many ways they own our leaders. And so in many ways, today's world has a much scarier potential for conflicts to escalate than we have seen in years. It is, in fact, one of the reasons I remind myself of the good in people, of those who hold to peace. But things that seem to repeat history or which can act as a flashpoint still trouble me greatly.

'There is no Dana, only Zuul!'

This will delight those fans out there of Ghostbusters, but I, for one, have dealt with a friend's alter-ego, which we have named Zuul, for years, so that's where my thoughts first went.

Positive thoughts, day two

Three positive things, day two of five
1. I have caring co-workers who welcomed me back from surgery today and were willing to help if I needed it.
2. I was physically able to do what I wanted to, and while I appreciate the offers, found that pushing myself just a bit was good for me.
3. However, I am very happy to come home to a comfortable apartment and bed. I am now going to elevate my leg and take a nap. But not everyone has the luxury of a safe, comfortable place to sleep, which ma very thankful for the small joys in my life.

I made it through most of a workday!

Well, I made it over 6 hours at work today, which isn't bad post-surgery. I got everything I absolutely needed to do finished, but I was getting pooped and sore and didn't want to overdo it, so I decided to come home and start fresh tomorrow for the full amount of time. Go, me! :) (I also discovered rolling chairs are not my friend; fortunately I didn't fall out of one. But it was close.)

Positive thoughts

My cousin wrote something on her Facebook wall about a challenge to come up with three things for five days that were positive. She issued the challenge to some people on her friends list, and even though I wasn't one of the ones challenged, I thought it was a great idea. She mentioned that her grandmother was having her 96th birthday today, which is wonderful. We also share a grandmother together, and she is 90. It's amazing to be in your fifties and still have both grandmothers living. She is very blessed in that regard.

Anyway, here are my three positive thoughts for the day:

1. I am very lucky to have someone in my life who loves me unconditionally.
2. I am very lucky to have someone in my life who will never lie to me, even if he has to be brutally honest.
3. I am very lucky to have people in my life that I myself nurture and help take care of, because the very act of caring for another person brings out our humanity, and it feels good to be giving something back to those I love and who love me.

So that's mine for the day. And now, I think I really will do some reading, as I'm not particularly sleepy.

I thought

after I finished watching Despicable Me 2 (which was quite fun), I would just go back to sleep for a little while, especially as I'd changed out my CPAP supplies. But I found I wasn't too sleepy, so I listened to Bastille's Bad Blood and played on my phone for awhile, mostly downloading updates to applications and looking at Facebook posts. Per a conversation with YKWIA earlier, I added A Streetcar Named Desire to the Netflix queue, as I've never seen it.

I have decided that unless I feel terrible tomorrow morning, I will go into work at least part of the day. If I feel like I'm overdoing it, I'll go ahead and leave. I don't think either of my bosses would have trouble with that (although neither of them will be there tomorrow, as they're both on vacation). So, here's what I need to do tomorrow:

• Send Despicable Me 2 back in to Netflix
• Send my mom her birthday card
• Enter the charge sheets from Friday if there are any and Monday as they come in
• Work on the referrals
• Do the OR reconciliation
• Take care of any library requests that are waiting
• Check about possible speakers for that forum on mobile devices

No lifting, no rearranging, no shelving books or journals, nothing like that, yet...just getting to my desk, doing stuff there, and maybe getting my sheets from another department and going to the cafeteria and the like. No overdoing it. If I need help, I'll ask for it. I'm sure people will be willing to help if I need it. I will take my cane just for a little added stability going through the parking lot, but I shouldn't need it around the hospital any more than I do here.

All in all, despite the surgery, it's been a good weekend. My friends who took me were great, my mom called and checked on me (she had a procedure at the same time, so she couldn't come up) as soon as she was able, A was great about staying over, today has been pretty peaceful, and while I had my doubts about how quickly they said I should be able to do things, I must say the doctor has been right so far. Apparently he did talk to my friends (I don't remember even seeing him, if I did), and stressed my need to lose weight, which of course, he'd already spoken to me about. If I can start walking without the pain I've been having, I think I have a chance of doing that, and I'm trying to watch my blood sugar and eating already. My left knee is also hurting, and I plan on mentioning it to him when I seem him for my post-op visit. I don't know if it was hurt when I got down on the ground like the other, but not as badly, or more likely it's hurting because 1) it's my 'bad' knee, and 2) it's been working harder with this one being so bad off. We'll see. If it's just arthritis, then that's one thing. If the meniscus is an issue on it as well and it's about the same as this one was, then I may need further treatment. But I'd like to see how this heals and if I have less pain first. But if I could get to where my knees weren't painful, I'd be much more likely to walk and exercise, as it has been one of the limiting factors for years.

I have now proven

that I can drive. I've been off the pain pills since early this morning, on just regular acetaminophen, so the narcotics should be out of my system by now. I woke up just a little while ago and it was actually sunny, so I decided to try to do a shower and change the bandages on my own, which I did, and then got into some comfy shorts and a shirt and checked to see if I could wear my sandals okay, and then went out to the car and tested that out. It's a little painful to get out of the car, not as bad getting in, actually, but I did okay. I went the shortest route up to the corner store, Circle K, meaning that I was going between a reservoir and a marsh, but hey, sometimes we must dare. I wouldn't have gotten into the car and put it in gear if I hadn't been feeling well and comfortable doing so.

I parked behind the store so I wouldn't have to do any tricky stuff with trying to get out of their busy lot, and I must say walking to the store, around it, and back was about enough for me. So even though technically I could drive to work in the morning, I'm not sure I can get from the car to my desk and back easily. If I wake up feeling bouncy and ready to go tomorrow, I'll go. If I feel like I still have some healing to do before trying to make it the full day, then I'll stay home, or perhaps come in for half a day. In fact, the half a day might be good in order to gauge how I'll do for a full day, rather than rushing in.

In the meantime, I now have some caffeine and paper towels, and a DVD to watch (Despicable Me 2), so I'm hoping I can sit up for awhile and do that.

As far as I am concerned

David Suchet is Hercule Poirot, and not just because he has played the part of the Belgian detective for 25 years now. He has brought Poirot to life. It's true, all good things must come to an end. I am sorry this is one of them....

Fastidious Belgian Detective Bows Out: ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’ Comes to an End

Of course, for British viewers, the show ended last year on ITV. But the is the last season for PBS. Be sure to catch it tonight if you love Agatha Christie's detective.

Good for them!

These Rad Retirees Recreate Their Favorite Movie Scenes For An Epic Calendar

Back in January, there was a retirement community called The Contilia Retirement Group in Essen, Germany that made one of the coolest calendars I had ever seen. The premise? Recreate iconic movie scenes, ranging from Rocky to Titanic.

. You can view several others calendar shots here, and download it if you'd like.

It's rumbling outside and very dark for a summer morning

as the rain comes down gently. We really needed the rain, and I wasn't really going anywhere, so I can't complain. The window boxes made it through the night without falling off the ledges (yes, if I were in a house, I'd have them on brackets, but I'm in an apartment, so it is what it is.) I slept over nine hours and it was lovely to sleep in on a Sunday for a change. I've taken all my medication (including the potassium, which dissolved in my mouth, but I drank so quickly it went down before I tasted it). I've had just a little hazelnut spread on bread and I'm full already. I'm switching to just plain acetaminophen today. I'm charging my glucometer. I've been up doing some things, but I'm already feeling sleepy again, which probably isn't surprising given how dark things are outside, even though I've been up for only about an hour. It looks like it's starting to lighten up out there, though. Maybe it's clearing off a bit. The birds are singing, anyway. Maybe I'll try some reading....

In point of fact

not only am I sleepy, I have been chair sleeping in front of the computer for several minutes now, lulled by the sound of thunder and the smell of food coming from one the other apartments. I'm going to get up now, take my pill, and head on to bed. Good night. :)

In some ways

I felt better on the day of surgery than today. Maybe it was a combination of the fluids and anaesthetic. You can tell every time I've been up by when I posted today (well, and yesterday, too), usually at a half an hour a time. But I think I've actually slept more today. Since A left, I've pretty much just gotten up to eat and then went right back to bed, for longer and longer periods at a time. For example, He left around 11:45 am. I woke up about 1:30, then 3:30, then 7:30, and now 11:30. The last time I went to bed I listened to music for awhile and put my phone on to charge, because we're supposed to have storms tonight (in fact, a warning just popped up on my phone). Because I'd gone over 6 hours without my pain medicine, I was in quite a bit of pain around 7:30 (I'd taken it when A left). Even elevating the leg hurt some, so I finally just went on my side with a pillow between my legs, and that was more comfortable. I'm going to take some more in just a bit so that I can get back to sleep comfortably, even though it will be just over four-and-a-half hours this time.

I am beginning to regret the decision not to get any soda for my time off from driving. Water is better, and I'm drinking quite a bit, but going cold turkey from caffeine maybe wasn't such a good plan. That and the pain medicine combines to make me very sleepy every time I do try to get up and maybe surf the net or do something not strenuous but engaging the mind, like read. I know I should get some rest, but it's a little frustrating. Maybe tomorrow I can do a little more. I'm going to try to cut back on the medicine to half starting tomorrow afternoon if I can, so by Monday I can switch to regular acetaminophen.

The wind is really starting to pick up outside. I hope my window boxes don't get blown off. I managed to water all the plants earlier, including the ones outside, and thought about putting them down on the ground, but decided that was too much bending.

Okay, I'm sleepy already (and I haven't even taken the medicine yet.) I'm going to go take that and head back to the bedroom. Sorry I'm not good company. But all in all, the surgery went well and the recovery is progressing well so far. Hopefully it will continue to do so.

I never did like the orange ones...

They didn't seem to really say, 'hey, that person is incarcerated.' So kudos to them for bringing back the black-and-white stripes. I've seen this in our area, too, although I think Fayette County still does orange or dark green jumpsuits. But it floors me that anyone would go to the mall dressed in an orange jumpsuit with the name of the local facility on their back like it's a fashion statement.

Black and white is the new orange? Sheriff buys jail jumpsuits after orange becomes 'cool'

If orange is the new black, as the popular TV show title says, then black-and-white stripes are the new orange at the Saginaw County Jail.

The jail's all-orange jumpsuits increasingly are viewed as "cool," Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel says, prompting him to begin purchasing jumpsuits with horizontal black-and-white stripes for use inside the jail instead.

The choice was not arbitrary, the sheriff says.

"It's because as you see shows on television, like 'Orange Is The New Black,' some people think it's cool to look like an inmate of the Saginaw County Jail with wearing all-orange jumpsuits out at the mall or in public," Federspiel says, referring to the Netflix drama. "It's a concern because we do have our inmates out sometimes doing work in the public, and I don't want anyone to confuse them or have them walk away.

"We decided that the black-and-white stripes would be the best way to go because it signifies 'jail inmate,' and I don't see people out there wanting to wear black-and-white stripes."

That was the closest thing to a sleepover I've had in a long while, even if it wasn't for the most fun of reasons

My friend (read 'keeper') has gone home after making sure I did fine in the shower and helping me change my bandages. Despite the serpentine ACE bandage that's as long as my leg, there are actually only two small stapled incisions under all that gauze and cloth, which I kept dry with Harry Potter Band-Aids, plastic wrap and Kroger's bags. I did use the shower chair, too, and angled the shower head away from that leg, so that helped. I didn't even need to use a blow dryer before we put new gauze on it and the other bandages back on. He was very good about making sure I got rest and didn't overdo it, so much that I had to chuck the whole 'good hostess' thing and just get used to being waited on. Thank you, A! I will bring your ice cream over when I'm driving again!

I'm eating veggie burgers and some Doritos A had asked for, and I think I'm pretty much going to back to bed now. I'd taken a pain med right before he left, then slept for about two hours, but my stomach woke me up actually hungry, so I thought I should get up. The mail just ran, and I checked it, but there wasn't anything. I haven't really read or watched TV (except for about fifteen minutes with A at one point this morning while I ate breakfast). I did listen to a little music last night. But mostly I've rested, with my leg up. I'll see if I can start taking the pain meds down to half a pill tomorrow. I might be able to go back to work Monday, but I don't want to push it, and at this point, although yes, I can put weight on my leg, I'm not sure I'm up to driving. But by Monday or definitely Tuesday I should, barring anything like infection or the like. I go back to the surgeon on the 5th, I think, and then I'll have the staples out. I've never had staples before. These are pretty small, a little thicker than paper staples but about the same length. My mom, back in the 80s, had chest surgery and they had these huge staples under her rib; they looked like the ones on big cardboard boxes. I had never seen them before. I asked if they had a special tool to get them out or if they just had to pry them off with scissors (I was being a smart aleck), and she told me to stop cracking jokes because it hurt to laugh.

Okay, I really am getting terribly sleepy again. Time to go back to bed. I gave A the big fuzzy blanket last night, so now I get it back. The short, thin one was fine last night, but I was a little cool when I woke up a bit ago.

I've pretty much spent the day

elevating my leg and sleeping for about 2-3 hours at a time, and then getting up briefly for food and water. The notable exception was about 3:30 pm, when I had just spoken to YKWIA, who was checking up on me. I heard a knock on the door, and thought it was way too early for my friend A, who is spending the night, to be there, as he was coming from work on the bus. I went outside and heard a motor outside. Thinking it might have been the post, and knowing I had CPAP materials on the way, I went outside and was up the first step without even realising it. I stopped there and cried, 'Wait!' It was a UPS truck. I asked the driver if he was trying to deliver to my apartment, and told him I was sorry, I'd just had surgery today, and hadn't gotten to the door in time. He backed up and gave me my package and had me sign for it, then went on his merry way. It was only after the adrenaline started to fade I'd realised what I'd done, and that while I wasn't obviously bleeding or anything bad, I was hurting a bit and it was time to go back inside. I was out of breath, and called YKWIA, who was somewhat exasperated with me and told me to go to bed.

I slept for a little while and then got up again about dinnertime, when A came over. He took out my forgotten trash from this morning. I oriented him to things like the phone, the food, TV, etc., and then ate something myself. Then it was time to take a pain pill and I went back to bed. This time it was a three-hour sleep. I came out to take my Lantus and get a snack (I hadn't eaten much at dinner, because pain pills rob me of my appetite, and my Byetta limits it a bit, too). I took out a blanket and pillow. He was asleep on the loveseat with 'Law & Order' on, which is sort of his natural habitat. I did have the air mattress out if he wanted that, but I think despite being nearly six feet tall he'd rather sleep on the loveseat rather than blow it up. So at least he has a blanket and the pillow, plus all the pillows (mostly small cat-shaped ones) to get comfortable with.

I got some water and went back to bed, this time starting up the laptop and I've got myself propped up against one of those pillows with arms and a pillow under my leg. Of course, I need to elevate it above the heart, so when I'm sleeping, I have three pillows--one regular, one sham, and one fluffy Euro pillow--stacked up and my leg on that without actually being behind my knee, as per instructions. I'll go back to that when I go back to bed. I just wanted to wait up a bit when it's time to take my next tablet for the night, which should be in a few minutes. Then I'll go back to bed. I hope A is not too bored. I'm doing better than we expected and was up a bit when he came in, and when he called YKWIA he passed on in no uncertain terms that I was to take it easy, not wait on him, and get some rest. It's nice to be loved. :)

A couple of great videos from Funny or Die

Mary Poppins Quits with Kristen Bell from Funny Or Die

Supreme Court: No Girls Allowed from Funny Or Die

Up for a bit

I decided it was time to:

• Go to the bathroom for the first time since early, early this morning
• Get a bite to eat (veggie sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit)
• Take my insulin
• Take my oral medications
• Ice my knee

and generally try to get back into a routine. I'm finishing up the last of the Diet Root Beer YKWIA gave me after surgergy, which was very welcome. Believe it or not, when I did that grocery shopping yesterday, I didn't get soda. A didn't want any, and I decided water would probably be best.

I walked over to the hospital this morning, which meant both knees were in pain before the surgery. The one is, now, even with the pain pill they gave me earlier, but it's not horrible. I can walk a limited amount of time on it, like from one end of the apartment to another. Getting up and down is best done in a sort of straight-leg fashion, leaving most of the bending for the 'good' knee. When I'm elevating my knee, though, I tending to rotate the knee out a bit, and my feet go out on the pillow. That happened with the ankle surgery and it was fine, but the knee seems to hurt worse when I do that, so I'm trying to prop it up in ways it won't rotate. My knee apparently has the equivalent of Band-Aids on it, but is wrapped from above the knee to my foot in an ACE bandage. I'm looking at my post-op instructions, and if I wrap the area with plastic wrap thoroughly and keep the incisions dry, I can shower tomorrow. I'll do that while A is still there, and probably use the shower chair just to be safe. I can then change the Band-Aids. It sounds like if I can tolerate the pain enough without the meds in a couple of days, I should be able to drive and hence return to work, barring any problems. Yay!

My stomach was just a tiny bit upset when I laid down in the bed after getting home, but the Pepcid they gave me before the anaesthesia did pretty well--I've never gotten sick from that or pain meds. I know one poor lady who had cancer and was given pain meds that made her throw up horribly.

Apparently the main reason my surgery was moved is due to the need for latex precautions. I react to latex, usually as itching, but I once had a dentist who re-gloved with latex gloves and my mouth and tongue began to swell. So they're fairly careful with me now. At the time, the dentist wound up taking me to the sink and rinsing my mouth out with soap, which stopped the reaction, thankfully, bu it tasted horrid.

I managed to get up by 4:15 this morning and finish a lot of the home stuff that I couldn't the night before. The only two important things I forgot were to take out the trash (I'm going to ask A to take it out--I put it all together and got it ready and then walked off without it) and then putting on deodorant, which I rectified a little while ago. Funny the little things that slip your mind and then bug you later.

Okay, I'm still a little sleepy and I should really be elevating this knee now that I've eaten. Actually, I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open. Back to bed! Hope your day is going well. It's so odd to be off from work on a Friday. Have a happy weekend.

This isn't my surgery itself

But it is basically what was done to my knee today...

<

Now, time for that nap...

Home from the hospital

Having some pain,  but it should ease up now that I have my knee propped up and I have taken some pain medicine. I will ice it in a bit. They did a partial meniscectomy with a chondroplasty.  I can put weight on it for short periods of time.  Right now I am in bed and I think I will try to get some sleep--I only got about three hours max last night or so.  I will write later,  hopefully.  All in all,  it wasn't too bad.

So the hospital called today

to confirm my surgery, and they want me there a full hour before I was scheduled previously. Now I'm already getting two people who are not morning persons up at an ungodly hour, one of which is driving in from another county, and I live practically across the street from the hospital, so I asked if I could come over at the appointed time and then they come over an hour later, and they said that was fine. There shouldn't be a problem so long as they are there to take me home, and I won't be going back to surgery until after they get there, anyway. Of course, it does mean walking across the street where I was hit a couple of years ago very early in the morning, but hey. Now I'm very tired, but I have things to do before I go to sleep. I've gotten my insulin, taken a friend to an appointment, made keys for my friends, and gone to the grocery so there's food for A and me to eat that is not too involved. But I'm running out of steam. I don't know if I'll be up to blogging tomorrow or not, but I'll try to. For now, though, I'd better get a few things done, even though I want to put my feet up and rest.

Two Bastille songs I like

Okay, time to go to bed (and maybe listen to a little Bastille before I fall asleep, as the CD is in my player next to my bed).

Things I have to do in the next 24 hours:

• Go into work early
• Get some cash on the way
• See if I can get the keys made before work, as Home Depot opens at 6 am (did it after work)
• Send my mom a birthday card (I forgot to get A to get it out of the car glove compartment so I could send it today; but her birthday isn't till next month, so I have some time)
• Fill an interlibrary loan request
• Take some children's books to our laboratory
• Take a couple of boxes of stuff that's accumulated in my cubicle to the car (I'll do that next Wednesdsay if I can)
• Recycle some withdrawn journals I can't find homes for (I'll do that next Wednesdsay if I can)
• Shelve new journals (I'll do that next Wednesdsay if I can)
• Re-shelve things in the library (I'll do that next Wednesdsay if I can)
• Straighten up the library (I'll do that next Wednesdsay if I can)
• Fill paper and supplies for the copiers
• Work on referrals, including removing unnecessary ones from the queue and starting others that are needed, and send names that won't come off the list so they won't be included in Monday's report
• Put in my charge entry sheets
• Reconcile the operating room charges
• Ask about an unusual data entry case
• Deal with anything that might come up tomorrow at work
• Set up an autoreply for the e-mail at work
• Check with the organisers of a mobile conference from a few months ago for speaker ideas in their area for a forum being done at a forum I'm helping with at another conference (I'll do that next Wednesdsay if I can)
• Call my endocrinologist for a prescription for a medicine that I've had from samples that's been working well
• Take a friend to an appointment
• Have keys made if I couldn't that morning
• Give keys to friends
• Show a friend how to find my apartment from the bus stop
• Pay bills
• Go to the grocery store
• >Clean out the refrigerator
• Do dishes
• Set up bedroom and bathroom for recovery
• Water all plants, inside and out
• Straighten up living room
• Pull out air mattress, inflate, and put sheets and pillows on it
• Pull out the assistive items such as the shower chair and bedside commode in case they're needed
• Get the medical surrogate/advanced directives paperwork together, etc., just in case it's needed
• Put together loose, comfortable clothing for the next day
• Pare down my backpack to what's necessary
• Put my walker by the door to take just in case it's necessary
• Stop all food and drink by midnight

I'm not 100% sure I can get all of that completed, but I'm going to do my best.

I do have to share this, first

By Sue Fitzmaurice....I think this sums things up very nicely.

One of my co-workers was right

My insurance company will not authorise the surgery at the ambulatory surgical centre that is at the orthopaedics practice. Therefore, it has been moved to a hospital that is just about a football field or two away. I should have to be there at the same time, but a nurse will call me tomorrow to confirm. My co-worker Bobbie had told me that this would most likely happen, as that has been her experience. But I'm surprised they waited to tell me until two days before the surgery.

I got quite a bit done today in preparation for being off at work. I think we have all the back-up issues settled. I have a to-do list a mile wide for tomorrow, but if there's anything I can't finish, I'll just have to let it go. I've put all my tasks into an application on my phone for work. I do still need to do a few things around home as well. And I should get a key made tomorrow evening so I can give it to A. I'll make sure YKWIA has one as well. I think I'll take him to his appointment tomorrow, drop him off, and then go over to Lowe's and have them made, which shouldn't take too long and then I can pick him up afterwards and give them the keys.

I've been too busy to really get nervous about the surgery, but I am starting to get a little anxious. I really hope all goes well. According to most people I've talked to who have experienced it or something similar, it should be fine. And I do feel a little better that I'll be at the hospital should anything go wrong.

Okay, I really need to clean some of my work space here up and get something to eat. I got my desktop up and running again, and the keyboard is terribly dusty (and slightly sticky, I'm not sure why), and I didn't realise until I was setting things up just how dusty my computer desk, computer, and printer are. I've been using the laptop for awhile instead. Then I need to straighten up around here in general, do some dishes, that sort of thing, and generally prepare for A staying the night on Friday. I'll probably write later, though.

This is an older one that I hadn't seen before

but I would love to have this as an e-mail auto-reply in some cases. And Facebook can be like this a lot, too. :) And I agree, I wish more people visited Snopes. Of course, I tend to post stuff like this here, but at least you all have the option of reading or not. :) Right???

An excellent commercial :)

How I kind of feel lately at work

trying to get ready for the surgery and being off, even if it's for a day or two beyond the weekend:



(I do like Billy Joel. And of course, as a history geek, my favourite is 'We Didn't Start the Fire'):

This is a very cool idea

that got funded on Kickstarter about an hour ago. I'd buy the finished product, and add it to my banned books collection, because it'll probably be challenged. But it also looks like a fun read and a way to introduce the concept of evolution to very young children. As Tweet points out, creationists have plenty of children's books of their own, but there isn't really much out there for the rest of us. Thanks to YKWIA who pointed me to it.

Thank you, Rhoda!

One of my friends at work who is moving on to bigger and better things gave this to me today. I do love African violets, and this one is pretty unusual, pink and white and ruffled.



Rhoda is the one who let me borrow a walker when I got hit by the car and broke my ankle, and she also brought me food from her family's Thanksgiving dinner during that time since she knew I wasn't able to spend time with my own family then. She even had her mother make some green beans without meat for me. I tend to define a friend as someone I can depend on, and Rhoda fits the bill. She'll be teaching in a college nursing programme now, and I wish her all the luck in the world.

Almost too tired to blog

I don't often blog on game Sundays, and to be honest I'm doing it from bed at the moment, having brought the laptop in here instead of setting it back up in the living room. I have returned home with clean laundry, the laptop case with computer and voice recorder so I can work on notes, as well as a lunch bag full of food and my purse. So I had quite a bit to bring in, although only the computer was particularly heavy, as I have a book in the bag I meant to show Brenda on small-scale gardening. That's twice I've brought it and I've forgotten to show her.

I did get with her about taking me to surgery, and formally asked YKWIA if he would come, too, since he's my medical surrogate. A is going to come over by bus when he gets off work and stay overnight with me.

I have to admit, I am a little nervous about the surgery and recovery. But with any luck it should go fine. I hope so, anyway. I have to be there very early on Friday morning, so I really appreciate Brenda and YKWIA taking me. I did overdo things a bit while cleaning today, and my knee hurts and my feet are very swollen, so I'm going to elevate my leg and ice my knee a bit. I've already made the switch from ibuprofen to acetaminophen in terms of preparing for the surgery (ibuprofen works best for me in terms of pain, but as an non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, it can make bleeding more likely if you take it before surgery). Here are some other things I need to do by Friday:

• Go to the pharmacy and get prescription refills for three people, including myself.
• Pay bills.
• Get an extra key, either from Brandon or, if he can't get it to me, I'll have to have one made for A in case he needs it.
• Get some things out of the walk-in closet I might need for recovery, like a shower chair and bedside commode (that goes over the regular toilet so I don't have to bend so far at the knee).
• Get absolutely as much as I can do at work for the week in four days.
• Make sure everything is ready at work in terms of backup in case I can't come back as quickly as I expect.
• Work out who will get YKWIA (either Brenda can get him on the way, or I could go get him that morning and meet her at my apartment).
• Get some documents together in case they are needed.
• Get the house ready for company.
• Put the sprayer on the kitchen faucet for bathing/washing hair.
• Make sure there is plenty of easy-to-make food, as A does not cook and I probably won't feel up to even trying.
• Blow up the air bed on Thursday night and put sheets, etc., on it, so A can stay the night comfortably.
• Move the laptop back to the bedroom Thursday night.
• Get the bedroom ready, making sure I have plenty of pillows, books to read, water bottle, etc.
• Lay out comfy clothes for the surgery the night before, transfer my purse stuff to a backpack, and have the walker ready to take even though I hopefully won't need it.

Meanwhile, here's to celebrating the first moon walk (and not the Michael Jackson kind) 45 years ago this evening, and I'm sorry to hear that actor James Garner had died. RIP. I think that's it for the night. I was going to write something else, but I must confess it's fled my mind. I guess I'm really sleepy. I'm going on to bed. Good night!

So, I'm waiting for Brenda to show up for the game

We've been watching 'Dan vs.' on Hulu, and in this case Dan is against vegetables. It's quite an entertaining show. Now we're moving on to 'Mother Up!', which is pretty fun, too. This one has Rudi trying to quit smoking.

I'm blogging on the laptop, but through using my phone as a hotspot. I'm moving a little slowly today. I overslept, was late over to my friends' house, but persevered and got the cleaning done. I am also doing some laundry of mine while we wait, which reminds me, the buzzer just went off, so I need to go check on it. Hope you're having a great weekend!

Funny how something like this makes all that stupid stuff look, well, stupid and sexist, which it is

YKWIA showed me this today. I thought it demonstrated sexism very well.

Concerned--and I just don't get the appeal of Kindle Unlimited

Amazon Unlimited

The disruption continues, and it’s hard not to see the announcement of the new Kindle Unlimited Service as a significant challenge to libraries.

Let’s review how things stand with libraries right now. Most public library budgets took a hit during the recession, meaning they had less money to provide new content. At the same time, some of our patrons developed a preference for ebooks over print. Meanwhile, the Big Five publishers and ebook distributors together jacked up the price of new ebooks by as much as nine times, or restricted their use in various ways, while still preserving the legacy model of one user at a time. That, in turn forces libraries to buy multiple copies, and forces patron to wait—often for months—for popular titles.

Bottom line: that’s a setup that strikes at the public libraries’ primary business—loaning new materials. Still, few libraries in the United States assess taxes of as much as $100 a year per household. So if you read a lot, a library still saves you money, even if most library checkout systems are not only expensive, but cumbersome to use.

I love my Kindle, I love Amazon, and I have Amazon Prime and enjoy the perks of that. But I see no reason to spend additional money for Kindle Unlimited when I don't have time to read enough to make it worth my while and even if I did, I have access to a public library that doesn't charge me to read books, both in regular and electronic format. What worries me is that Kindle Unlimited could interfere with my library's ability to provide those services.

Pretty much true

Which American Accent Do You Actually Have?

Western

You have a Western accent - and all of this time you probably thought you didn't have an accent at all! The Western dialect of American English is a single regional dialect that unites the entire western half of the United States, including California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana! The west was the last area in the United States to be settled during the westward expansion of English-speaking people and it's full of linguistic patterns from other regions. Your accent is general enough that no one knows exactly where you're from. Your accent is perfect for public speaking, news broadcasting, acting, advertisements, etc.!

Despite spending most of my life in the South (Kentucky--30 years, South Carolina--2 years, and Louisiana--10 years), three years in California, and two years in Kansas, I came out Western. People here don't think I have a Southern accent. To get someone who 'loves my Southern accent' I have to go to Minnesota. But I agree with the Western evaluation. I also use 'were' and 'wore' and 'war' as if they all are pronounced the same, which I have only heard in Californians. And although I said 'pin' and 'pen' the same in my youth, college taught me otherwise. (In fact, here in Kentucky they often say 'ink pen' to differentiate from 'pin'.) But I do tend to pick up things that are local when I live there. When I lived outside of Shreveport, for example, I said 'Luziana' and 'Nawlens' for Louisiana and New Orleans. And just yesterday I was told I say Tennessee with the accent on the first syllable, which is pretty Southern. And of course, there are the placenames, such as the Little Arkansas River (pronounced to rhyme with Kansas, not Arkansas (Arkansaw)) when I was in Kansas, and here in Kentucky with have Versailles (Versales) and Athens (with a long 'A'). What accent do you come out as?

This is definitely the best of 'Weird Al' Yankovic so far!

Plus it is educational, and has some great word pairings. I particularly like a 'cunning linguist'.

This is great

Thanks to Vanessa Jarebu Irvin for sharing on Facebook.

So sad

Victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Among the 298 people aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were a renowned AIDS researcher, a Dutch senator and an Australian novelist. Malaysian authorities have reported 193 Dutch victims, including an American-dutch citizen; 43 Malaysians, including the crew; and 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, 10 Britons, including a British-South African citizen, four Belgians, four Germans, three Filipinos, one Canadian and one New Zealander.

Following are profiles of a few of the victims who have been identified. If you knew someone on the flight, we invite you to share your recollections. We will update this as more information on the victims becomes available.

Good cops! :)

Post by 1,000,000 Pictures.

I don't know if this recording is authentic

but it certainly is very, very chilling, as the Young Turks put it:



As mentioned in the video, there were AIDS researchers going to Melbourne, Australia to an international AIDS conference via the plane:

Downed flight ‘robbed the world of future discoveries’: When Flight MH17 was shot down, it cut short the lives of top HIV/AIDS researchers, begging the question: “What if the cure for AIDS was on that plane?”

Then there was this...

Malaysia Airlines: 80 Children Killed In MH17 Tragedy, Including 3 Infants

I love Weird Al

(I have actually met someone who lined her cap with foil, actually. She was a batty lady on the bus.)

Prepare to have your eyes burnt out by the sheer mix of colours:



(Thanks to YKWIA, who shows me the best videos.)

Sad

and if she hadn't left her 12-year-old daughter in the car, there might have been another hostage, possibly a death. Two other hostages, bank employees, are expected to recover, after being thrown or escaping from the SUV during the chase, one of them shot, apparently. Misty Holt-Singh, however, was killed as robbers used her as a human shield, and it is unclear which side the bullet that killed her came from. So sad. My condolences to the family. You never know when an innocuous trip on an average day can lead to something like this. Hug your loved ones, and tell them you love them whenever possible.

Bank customer-turned-hostage recalled as loving mother

That's enough blogging for now

I'm going to go read some more of Alchemy of Murder, by Carol McCleary. I got through eight chapters yesterday while waiting for a friend during an appointment. It has Nellie Bly, Jules Verne, Oscar Wilde, and Louis Pasteur in it, and I like the writing so far.

So I'm going to relax for awhile, for tomorrow is another day. I stayed a little late tonight to make up some of my time. I'm trying to save all my personal time off for any I might need due to the surgery.

Tomorrow we're having a sendoff for one of my favourite co-workers, who is retiring. I will miss her greatly. We exchanged contact info, though, so hopefully we can keep in touch.

Okay, going now. Have a good night.

I think

this would be the perfect job for my friend Brenda, if it weren't in New York City. She has a degree in costuming, knows textiles well, and has worked in libraries and as a cataloguer. I'm definitely going to tell her about it, though. I'm including it here to remind myself, and also, someone else might be interested in it:

From: http://global.ralphlauren.com/en-us/about/pages/careers.aspx
RALPH LAUREN
DEPARTMENTAL RESOURCE LIBRARIAN, SWEATERS - 16251 - New York, NY

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in four categories: apparel, home, accessories and fragrances. For more than 44 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. Purpose/Scope: To support the Department with specific responsibilities related to the yarn library, mill cards and all departmental resources

Responsibilities:

• Organize, maintain and responsible for departmental materials pertaining to yarn, color and garments
• Manage yarn library catalogue through tracking, receiving and cataloguing all yarn and mill cards from external vendors
• Manage the login and tracking of all yarns borrowed by departments with detailed accuracy
• Main liaison with Concept and Archive teams to ensure garments are properly stored, tracked and returned to library and/or Design team
• Maintain current color reference library for mills and compile historical reference books
• Assist with entry of lap dip comments in system and file/copy information accordingly
• Assist in packaging and coordinating delivery of yarn to external vendors (knitters/mills)
• Communicate and follow up with external vendors regarding delivery of yarn, mill cards and swatches
• Create color key references with chips identification to send to factories for production reference
• Maintain and organize collection of garments, swatches, color standards and yarn cards
• Coordinate and assist in seasonal organization and consolidation of departmental resources
• Obtain all yarn prices, cards and inventories from external mills and update system information accordingly

Requirements:

• College degree preferred
• 1-3 years of related work or internship experience
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to details
• Knowledge of yarn: sizes, mills and fibers
• Knowledge of color
• Computer Skills: Microsoft Office Excel, Word and Outlook, WebPDM is a plus
• Must be able to lift up to 30lbs and in good physical condition

Ralph Lauren is an equal opportunity employer. We offer dynamic career opportunities with growth potential and a generous company discount.

There is also another position, also in New York, for a Director, Inspirational Content, Ralph Lauren Library, whatever that is. Check it out if you'd like to work in the area.

This made me smile

Sorry, I don't know what it's originally from. I got it off of Facebook.

Something to think about

Thanks to George Takei for sharing a story about this.

Ah, nature....

and (thanks to YKWIA, who will now look away, as a spider is pictured....)



and I'm assuming you've seen this:

Here's something to distract from the other horrible stories

(Also courtesy of YKWIA.)

Today's 'ewww' story

So YKWIA called me at work and asked me how long I keep my contact lenses in at a time. I told him just the day, that technically I'm supposed to be able to to sleep in them, but I don't, and I take them out each night and clean them overnight. Mine are disposable, and I throw them out after a month or so of wear. I also do not shower in them, etc. Why did he want to know, I asked.

Amoebas devour girl's cornea after contact lenses stay in for 6 months

Student goes blind after keeping her contact lenses in for six months and microscopic bug EATS her eyeballs

Once the lenses were removed, doctors discovered that her corneas had been eaten away by the amoebas. The girl had not taken her contacts out at all in six months, including while swimming and bathing, and contact with dirty water can cause the amoebic infection. The lenses, which reduce oxygen and act somewhat like a bandage, created the an excellent breeding ground for the amoebas. This is being used as a cautionary tale by doctors to remind contact lens wearers to practice good hygiene, especially in the summer months, as that is the most likely time for them to become contaminated.

So if you're tempted to keep your lenses in for more than a month at a time, and think it's a bother to change and clean them, then 1) remember this story and 2) contacts probably aren't for you.

Terrible

Malaysian airliner downed in Ukraine war zone, 295 dead

A Malaysian airliner was brought down in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing all 295 people aboard and sharply raising the stakes in a conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels that has set Russia and the West at daggers drawn.

As the United States said the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was "blown out of the sky", probably by a ground-launched missile, Ukraine and Russia traded accusations of blame, cranking up global pressure for a way out of a bloody local conflict that risks fueling a new Cold War.

My thoughts are with the families of those killed today. It is terrible that even those flying 33,000 feet above the unrest on the ground were not safe. It complicates the world's response to the conflict immensely as well. Depending on what information can be gleaned, and who was responsible, this flight could very well be a flashpoint.

I finally broke down

And took some ibuprofen.  Hopefully I will  be able to sleep. Everything on me hurts,  but the knees are,  of course,  the worst--both of them together. The right starts out at a certain level of pain and gets worse over the course of the day. That is the one to be operated on. The left sometimes is fine and then sometimes the pain is very sharp. It is annoying,  but it is interfering with my work as about 2 pm I am all but curled up in my cubicle hurting. Still,  I've been working through it anyway. But I haven't been happy. Good thing the surgery is next week.  :) I can't believe I am saying this,  but I am looking forward to it,  if it helps with the pain.

I cried through this, too

I Died Today. By Duke Roberts.

This is the hardest thing about loving animals, about having animal companions we love so much. It is so hard to say goodbye. But we can at least try to make them as comfortable as possible and celebrate the time they were with us. This was done right.

YKWIA said 'no crying' when he showed this to me

Oh, well. Yes, I cried.

Dad's heartbreaking Internet plea spurs strangers



My condolences to Nathen Steffel and his wife Emily, along with their sons, for their loss.

So my odometer rolled over to 45,000 miles today

Which isn't bad, considering my car is a 2001 model. :) I think I've put just under 6,000 of those miles on it in the year and a half that I've had it. It's been a good little car so far, and I hope to have it for many years to come. I'm trying to take care of it and keep it in good repair and maintained regularly, anyway. I'm so glad I was able to get it. It really has made things so much easier for me (and my friends who don't drive), compared to riding the bus!

Time for a makeover

For whatever reason, my template decided to start spewing items on random parts of the page, making things difficult to read, plus it would no longer let me edit gadgets from the page when I was signed it like it should. Now, this blog is almost 13 years old, and has gone through a couple or three re-designs, with lots of coding, much of which I did myself, and with some layering of template designs upon one another, and quite frankly, I didn't want to go through line by line and try to debug the problem. And yes, this is a ready-made template that I thought worked well with my personality. (I like watercolours, I like art, and it kind of looks like someone just sort of splashed the paint onto the paper in an attempt at flowers or some such, and that seemed a good metaphor for how I sometimes see and live my life.) Anyway, feel free to give me some feedback. But something had to be done. Unfortunately, the translation gadget didn't seem to actually be doing much anymore, so I removed it. I hope that doesn't inconvenience anyone. Again, if you want it back, be sure to write me or comment, and I'll try to restore it properly.

While going through some of the links. I discovered that Abbie the Cat died last year, in fact it will be a year in just a few days. I'm so sorry to see that. I'm glad they kept the blog up as a memorial. I'm sure he was a good cat, and I know the pain of losing a beloved pet. While I didn't read Abbie's blog a lot, it made me smile each time I did.

I've got a friend lined up to take me to my surgery (poor thing, she lives in another county and I have to be there at 7 am on a Friday later in the month). I also have lined up a friend to stay with me that day, as I'm supposed to have someone with me during the first 24 hours. I think I'd probably be okay, but it's best if we go ahead and plan for him to be there. A friend offered to take care of me at his house like they did when I had oral surgery, but the problem with this is they have a bedroom and a large library, but no guest room, and I don't think I could get off the air mattress to go to the bathroom with my knee like it'll be--I kind of have to roll off onto my hands and knees usually. So instead, A will stay with me and he'll sleep on the air mattress (I just have one bedroom and a loveseat). I've promised him TV and munchies. I'll just blow up the air mattress the night before and put it in the living room and get it all set up with bedding.

I'm getting the library ready for anything that may happen if there are any complications or if I can't make it back as quickly as I'm planning to. I ordered toner for both copiers so there are two bottles of each type. I'll order paper before the surgery date. I'm doing some organising and rearranging, as well as cleanup of my desk area, removing some extraneous stuff.

I must confess I am somewhat nervous about the surgery and recovery, but it really has to be done. I am in pain daily, sometimes enough to take my breath away, especially in the afternoons and evening, and that's when I'm just sitting. I've been leaning on the other knee to take up the slack and it's actually hurting just as bad at this point. So I definitely need to take care of this.

Okay, it's almost 10:30 pm. I'm a little tired and cramping a bit. I'm finally starting my period, which is a week late, although I haven't really begun in earnest, so I'll wait to do my libation tomorrow night. I think I'm going to get some water, curl up with Alchemy of Murder, and afterwards go on to bed. I'd like to get to work a little early tomorrow as I overslept today and was about 15 minutes late. Then I'll be back on track time-wise. Good night. I hope you like the new design. Good night.

This sounds like great fun and a great way to publicise a library's resources

although I must admit, I'd look very silly in a mohawk (and they're a lot of work!)

‘9,000 Libraries, 9,000 Mohawks’ – Could Vista’s Librarian Mohawk Challenge Become a Dare?

Librarian mohawks – makes you do a double take, right? Those are two words that usually do NOT go together.

But thanks to Vista, now they do, as five good-natured librarians made good on their promise this spring and got mohawks because the community pushed them to a big milestone – Vista was the first county library to make it over the 1-million check-out mark.

That means the community checked out more than 1 million books, DVD’s and CDs over the course of the fiscal year, which ended June 30.

That's great!

Oh, it is so good to be able to stretch out

This morning the first work I did was to go through a closet filled with boxes of books, unpack several boxes,  put the books on a cart, and then transfer them to a cart in the clinic,  where they give them to the kids when they come for their appointments. It took awhile,  but the cart is now full and the clinic folks are happy.  But I felt like I got a real workout this morning, and,  of course,  you lift properly from your knees,  so it was really rough on the injured one.  I can't believe I am saying this,  but I am looking forward to the surgery in a couple of weeks and hopefully the end to the pain that has been limiting me compared to what I'd like to do, as well as keeping me from doing normal daily tasks without pain. Now it is nice to be able to elevate my legs and really stretch. I am all comfy in bed,  listening to the radio. :) Soon I will turn it off and sleep,  though.

Almost two years ago

I was hit by a car and two metatarsals in my right foot and my medial malleolus (the inner top part of my right ankle) were fractured.  For the ankle,  they did a surgery called an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF), where two screws were put in to stabilise the fracture so it could heal. This left a fairly large scar, but since it is on the inside of my ankle and frankly,  I am grateful to be walking,  I don't think much about it.

One thing that brought the difference  home,  though,  was when I was shoe shopping the other day.  The nice lady must see a lot of feet and ankles,  but when she saw my scar,  she literally gasped and then very quickly asked about my being hurt in a very sympathetic way. I guess it does look a bit scary.  The last time I saw my surgeon he apologised for the little dimples to the side.  They now have a new suture where those little puckers don't show.  But I am fine with my scar.  After all, it means I survived trauma and recovered.  It is sort of a badge of experience,  like grey hair. So I found myself reassuring the nice lady a little that I was fine. And I am,  thankfully.

One more video for the night, I promise

This guy is amazingly talented. YKWIA showed me his videos quite some time ago. This is a Disney parody. There's a newer one as well that is even, well, more wicked parody. But fair warning, if you're terribly politically correct, you'll likely be offended.

So wrong, I suppose

but a great Frozen parody. YKWIA showed it to me the other day.

This never gets old

Listening to:



(I was testing my sound, because my laptop didn't go back to the built-in speakers after using my headphones the other day (not sure why it doesn't do it--I just plugged in the external speakers and it works fine--will followup later). Anyway, this played in my library (I actually bought the song from Amazon because I liked it--and really related, having been bullied in school.))

This helps restore my faith in humanity

Maybe things like this will catch on...(without getting creepy or unsafe). :)

This Is What Happens When You Offer To Drive Drunk People Home For Free -- “Someone I know killed a man while drinking and driving one year ago tonight.”

For more on Alex Sheen's group, which tries to foster the act of making promises and keeping one's word for good, follow this link: because I said I would.

I took this last night

I still don't have a camera that can take a perfect picture of a full moon, but this was pretty nice. Tonight it should be even more full and stunning, as the moon is at perigee, closest to the earth for the year. When it rises at dusk, it's huge. This was near midnight, when it was high in the sky, but the clouds came out nicely. I thought you might enjoy it.



Okay, I think I'm going to eat something, take a hopefully short nap, and then work some on the house. Have a great day!

Success!!!

Howard Curry Shoes rock!

The same woman who answered the phone earlier waited on me, and she was great! Not only did she measure each foot when I told her what I was looking for, she let me try a pair of her personal shoes that were something she could order if they were still available. But then we found something better in the Vionic line (which is the same orthotic-sole brand that had first brought me there) that worked worked perfectly. They are two-toned black slides that adjust width and have Vionic's supportive podiatrist-designed Orthaheel Technology in the soles, which make everything--feet, knees, and back--feel more supported and are so much better than what I was wearing. The physical therapist hadn't had this particular style, and they were much more expensive there, about $120. The ones we were going to try to order, a pair of Haflingers [sort of like Birkenstocks, with a cork sole, which gives me some trouble, as I supinate, so they wear unevenly], were about $114. These were 30% off $75, so just over $50 with the tax. Yay!!!!

These are dressy enough for work, but are easy to slide off and are fully adjustable. Plus they feel great....

After just wearing them to the grocery and driving in them, I love them. If you're interested, the style is called Shore and they can be found online at Vionic's website, among other places. But if you're in Lexington, I would really recommend Howard Curry Shoes on Nicholasville Road and Moore Drive near Jimmy John's and Raising Cane's. The lady there (and I'm sorry, I didn't get her name) was incredibly helpful, in the good sense. Not every clerk would just let you try on their own shoes. :) And she found me the Vionics even though she potentially had a higher-priced sale to make if the shoes were still available to order. It was great. Also, the store is particularly known for its children's shoes, and the Talking Tree. If your kids have hard-to-match feet, they are particularly good at finding the right size. So give them a try if you're in the area. As far as I know, they're still family-operated, just like they were when they started downtown in 1948.

An amazing story

Hero Discovers He's In The Room With 80 People He Saved From Nazi Concentration Camps 50 Years Prior

Sir Nicholas Winton is now 105 years old. But back in 1988 he was persuaded to go onto a television programme after his wife discovered scrapbooks detailing his efforts to save 669 children, mostly Jewish, in Czechoslovakia from the Nazis. Haunted by his inability to save many, he went 50 years without talking about it. While on the programme, they surprised him with many of the audience members being children he had saved, leaving him overcome with emotion.

For more of Winton and the others who made such a difference in saving Jews from the Nazis, check out the Wikipedia entry for him, or read The Rescue of the Prague Refugees 1938–39, which, while out of print, may be available from your local library or through interlibrary loan. IT is also available as an e-book from Google Play. Winton was said to be 'delighted' with it. Again, thanks the George Takei for sharing this. I had heard of Winton's work, but had no idea he was still alive or the full story.

I saw this on Facebook the other day

and kept my mouth shut. But it's caused a furor, because, well, a lot of folks don't realise the difference between movie creatures and real ones, a lot don't understand the idea of dinosaurs being extinct, and many others don't get satire. Which is all very amusing.

Steven Spielberg is accused of poaching dinosaur after Facebook users are fooled by 'Jurassic Park' photo: A photo showing the director posing with a mechanical triceratops on the set of ‘Jurassic Park’ went viral after people denounced him for killing the creature.

Here is the post, for those who haven't seen it:

Now, I must confess something. I only glanced at the photo in my newsfeed, barely. I would apparently do well in the mythical town of Arkham, Massachusetts, where ghouls are rats and nightgaunts are bats, because my brain processed it as a rhino at first. However, because I have a nearly intrinsic distrust of anything I see on the Internet, I assumed it was fake, didn't share, didn't comment, and basically let it go. It was only later when I looked again, that I realised, gee, that's a triceratops, and the comments are stupid. But I was at fault, too, as I should have taken in the whole thing and not just skimmed it. But at least I did have the good sense to keep quiet, so no one realised I was being stupid. (Until now.)

Yum!

I woke up from a disturbing dream of abandoned dogs (I should really watch what I read before going to bed) very late today, with almost no appetite but a craving for tomatoes, especially yellow ones. So in the hour that I've been up and about, I have:

• Taken a shower and dressed
• Checked my blood sugar and taken my medicine
• Eaten a small protein bar
• Called Howard Curry Shoes to ask a couple of questions
• Gone to the farmers' market and spent $6.50 on three large yellow tomatoes and a pint of cherry tomatoes that were mostly Golden Jubilees
• Stopped by Circle K for drinks
• Went to the library and picked up the book on Francis Scott Key and the Washington race riots of 1835, as well as The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
• Paid a fine I'd gotten by borrowing through interlibrary loan where there was a bit of a delay in getting it back...the fines are $1 a day, so they rack up in just a few days. (I'd borrowed it for a friend.) I hope no one puts skimmers on those checkout machines at the library, because I didn't have enough cash and I had to use my debit card.
• Came home and chopped up a couple of the large yellow tomatoes, put some salt on them, and ate them, to great satisfaction. No pictures of bounty this week, as I was really keen on satisfying that craving. And no, as I said in the last post, I can't be pregnant. :)

So next on the agenda is going to Tates Creek to the library branch there and picking up another book (usually I just have them sent to my home branch, but hey, I do have a car, and some time today, so I'll just go there), then over to Nicholasville Road where the shoe store is. When I called earlier, the lady that answered was very helpful and had a lot of personality. Things look good for that trip. Let's hope they can find sandals for a foot that is basically a cube, as wide as it is long, and swollen in the afternoons to boot.

Hmmm...but before that, I have to admit the tomatoes have actually perked up my appetite just a bit. I may have a veggie burger, and then just eat dinner somewhere later. Or maybe I'll just come back here and have some salad I've fixed and find something to make. I have frozen Indian food, for example. It would be cheaper than going out. Plus I could watch something while I eat (yes, I know that's not the best thing to do as far as watching your food intake). I'll see how I feel later.

Okay, that veggie burger is calling. Hope you're having a god Saturday!

Hmmm.... this is going to be

Too much information,  but--
I am 47 years old.  Despite having polycystic ovarian syndrome and insulin resistance,  and basically having messed up hormones my entire adult life, I have never missed a period, or been more than a day or two late.  I sometimes have cycles as short as 26 days;  normally it is 28. But I'm hot a lot. A few months ago I was tested to see if I were going into menopause, and everything came back normal.  Then a little later I had a period that went for about two days,  then stopped,  then started back up after a couple of days.  Then it went back to normal.  Today is day 32 of my cycle, with no menstruation thus far,  (and no,  there is no chance that I am pregnant). My mood has mostly been okay,  but I have had a couple of premenstrual mood issues come up of late,  most notably the other day, when I was upset about something relatively minor way more than I should have been. So maybe the change is upon me.  I don't know. But I hope it is relatively problem-free. And blissfully short, for my sake and for those close to me.  :) Any advice out there from those who have gone before?

PS Update 7/14/14: 6 days--almost a week--late and counting.  I am starting to freak out a bit.

Weekend plans

I just got home a little while ago after a good day at work, running some errands (including paying my rent and talking to the leasing agent about getting in to a more accessible apartment). I should have the day to myself tomorrow. We did the grocery shopping tonight and my friends are meeting their family for lunch, so I'm on my own then. My plans are:

1. Stop by the Bluegrass Farmers' Market for fresh veggies and/or fruit
2. Go to the Eagle Creek branch of the Lexington Public Library (across the street from the market) to pick up a book on hold and one other that's available
3. Go to the Tates Creek branch of the Lexington Public Library to pick up another book
4. Head over to Howard Curry Shoes to see if they can do anything with my swelling, super-wide feet in terms of sandals
5. Have lunch somewhere I don't normally go [decided not to and be fiscally responsible at home]
6. Read!
7. Pay a bill (must remember that it's due)
8. Finish the game notes, even though we're not playing Sunday (I'm over half-way finished!)
9. Watch something fun
10. Listen to music
11. Take out the trash and recyclables
12. Wash dishes
13. Play with the Atari
14. Water the plants, inside and out
15. Put water in the fish tanks
16. Generally do what I can to get the place ready for my upcoming surgery, although at least things are where they're supposed to be

Then, on Sunday:

1. Go over to my friends' house and help them clean
2. Do laundry
3. Take A over to my place and watch a Bette Davis movie called 'The Old Maid'
4. Generally visit with friends and have some fun
5. Watch the last episode of season 1 of 'Salem', as well as the second episode of season 2 of 'The Witches of East End'