RIP nook

I dropped my nook today. 

A sad day indeed.  I swore I wouldn't get attached.  Books are waaaay better than a stupid ereader.  If you drop a book, you might get a bent page.  It gets soggy if you drop it in the tub, but doesn't short out.  I admit it.  I said all those things.  Then I got a nook.  I found some sites that offer free books.  I became addicted!  When I broke my elbow, my nook was my best friend.  I didn't have to turn pages, I just pushed a button.

Today,while on the phone, I was on hold for WAY too long and grabbed my nook.  It was still plugged in and I didn't realize it.  It flew out of my hands and onto the floor.  Now I can't get the screen to completely change.  I am sad.  $85 to have the Geek Squad tell me it's broken and then to send it on for repair.  Should I spring for a new one?  Stay with nook?  I don't want to lose my books so I think I will stay with nook.  Oh - to add insult to injury, my warranty expired nine days ago.  NINE DAYS AGO!

So, where has my nook taken me....let me think.  I have read many, many books I wouldn't have read if they hadn't been free.  Here's a list of all the books I've read this year - some on the nook and some your basic, hold in your hands books.  Have you read any of them?

1. A Floating City by Jules Verne (freebie)

2.  Closely Knit on Scarlatt by Ardath Mayhar (freebie)

3.  Daughter of Joy by Kathleen Morgan (freebie)

4.  A Truth for a Truth by Emilie Richards

5.  The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen  (freebie)

6.  The Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell

7.  Candle in the Darkness by Lynn N. Austin (freebie)

8.  How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks (freebie)

9.  Vamps and the City by Kerrelyn Sparks

10.  Be Still My Vampire Heart by Kerrelyn Sparks

11.  The Undead Next Door by Kerrelyn Sparks

12.  All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

13.  Secret Life of a Vampire  by Kerrelyn Sparks

14.  Forbidden Nights With a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

15.  The Vampire and the Virgin by Kerrelyn Sparks

16.  Eat, Prey, Love  by Kerrelyn Sparks

17.  Vampire Mine by Kerrelyn Sparks

18.  The Road from Chapel Hill by Joanna Catherine Scott

19.  A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh

20.  Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

21.  Changes by Jim Butcher

22.  Side Jobs by Jim Butcher

23.  Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

24.  Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

25.  Mennonite in a Little Black Book by Rhoda Janzen

26.  Stupid History by Leland Gregory (freebie)

27.  Phantom of Pemberley by Regina Jeffers (freebie)

28.  Heart of Stone by Jill Marie Landis (freebie)

29.  Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

30.  A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher (freebie)

31.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

32.  Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware (freebie)

33.  Money Secrets of the Amish by Lorilee Croker

34.  Reinventing Leona by Lynne Gentry (freebie)

35.  Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

36.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett

37.  Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer (freebie)

38.  Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

39.  Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (freebie)

40.  Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson (freebie)

41.  Adventures on the High Seas by Susan Barry Blair

42.  Dracula by Bram Stoker (freebie)

43.  Unholy Cow by John H. Carroll (freebie)

44.  Sexiest Vampire Alive by Kerrelyn Sparks

Seventeen of the books I read were free downloads to my nook.  I guess that means I need a new one.  And yes, I did go through a smutty vampire stage, thank you very much.  The books by Jim Butcher were part of the Dresden series my son and husband read.  They had been harping on me to finish them so they could talk about them in front of me!  The Help was wonderful - as I'm sure most of you know by now.  I would recommend the book over the movie any day.  I also read some classics I had never read before:  Tobacco Road (hated it), The Great Gatsby (didn't hate it, but sure didn't like it), Farenheit 451 (surprisingly good book) and Dracula (pretty good).

Adventure on the High Seas was a book written by my physical therapist's sister about their family sailing from England and settling in America.  It was a pretty good book about an interesting way of life.

There you have it.  I didn't reach my goal of 52 books this year, but I came pretty close!  Guess I need to start saving up for nook the sequel!



Christmas Parade 2011

Sheep on the main drag.  It doesn't get any better than this!

Think they would miss just one?  Me neither.

Fire Department showing off.

Men in skirts kilts.

Gotta have a few hot rods.

The only thing that could have made this hat cooler would be if it was hand knit!

More hot rods.

Low riders.

Quite an impressive cow.

My Dad had one of these.  Drove all the way from Florida to Tennessee in it...with my sister and me in the back.  WAY before car seat laws!  Good times - right Kel????

Must have lawnmowers in a parade!

Now this is something you don't see every day!  I hope!

The man we are all waiting to see!

The parade was very nice this year.  Such a beautiful day, even if it didn't get out of the 40s.  No rain.  No snow.  Lots of sunshine and silly people to stand with.

For those of you who might be curious - Harper is out of the cone!  Hallelujah.  I didn't think he would EVER get out of that thing!  Two weeks was long enough.

Poor Harper!

Harper's new look!

Harper visited the vet yesterday to be 'tutored'.  We sat him down and explained to him what was going to happen.  I don't think he was listening.  It would have been easier if I had had a picture book, but they just don't make those.  Go figure!  :)  Anyway, we dropped him off yesterday morning and picked him up yesterday afternoon.  After the drugs wore off and he realized 'part of him was gone', he starting licking....and licking....and licking....  That just would not do.  So, off to the vet for some snazzy neckwear!  Doesn't he look dapper?  Bless his heart, he can't judge distance and keeps ramming into furniture.  I know this is one look he'll be glad to be rid of!

Little Did We Know.....

Somebody was needing a home.  R has wanted a puppy since she was little.  However, the first puppy episode was disastrous!  Maybe since she was no longer 7 but 23 she could handle it a little better!  But were we ready?  NO!  RL and I were not.  L was indifferent.  After begging us to at least go to the rescue shelter, we couldn't stand it anymore relented and went.  We met so many puppies!  A litter of ten puppies caught our attention.  All of them had names of bears.  Boo-Boo worked his way into Rs heart.  Then the little stinker worked his way into our car! 

Harper on the way home from the rescue shelter.

Passed out in 'his' LazyBoy!

 

His tongue out after playing with his 'stick'

Pooped puppy!

His new leash

It's been a rough day!

Harper has been with us for a couple of months now.  What a sweetie he is.  He wears us out, but he's still sweet.  Any advice to make him stop biting?  This family is probably anemic due to the blood he's cost us!  Friday he was five months old.  The ear is no longer droopy - I wanted him to keep that!  He could never take Ginger's place in our hearts, but who knew we had room for a puppy in there too!?!

Ginger

While all this was going on with the broken elbow, our hearts were breaking.  Ginger turned 16 in May.  She was just not being herself.  The vet suggested blood work to determine what was wrong.  It was not good news.  Her kidneys were failing.  We decided to just love her while we could, but if she was starting to make a rapid decline, we would consider putting her to sleep.  She had been such a huge part of our lives for so long, especially R.  She had her since she was seven and we were worried about her just as much as we were Ginger.  Finally the day came and July 2nd we had to say our good-byes.  Our lives felt very empty.

I Forgot....

And that was the reason I couldn't knit from May until late September.

Elbow Surgery

So, I had to have elbow surgery.  I got a call from the surgeon who told me that I had two options.  1) I could make an appointment to meet him and we could schedule surgery from there.  2) I needed the surgery SOON and he could go ahead and schedule it without an office meeting.  I opted for #2.  The last surgery I had was when I had my last baby - 21 years ago!  I was awake for that and had no idea what it was going to be like to be put out.  The morning of surgery was stressful, to say the least!  I was told I could go home that afternoon.  I wasn't too concerned about the kids as a result.  The chaplain who had helped us when Daddy died came by to see me and was able to calm me down with kind words and prayer, so I was ready to go.  No counting backwards from 100, nothing to let me know I was going under.  Just talking one second and getting yelled at the next to wake up.  Such a strange experience!

My bionic left arm.

Different view of bionic left arm.

I didn't get to go home that night.  They made me stay in the hospital.  What does a knitter do when stressed?  Well, she knits!  What does a one handed knitter do when stressed?  Stays stressed!  We watched a lot of lousy television and slept when the pain subsided enough to allow it.  I was so proud of our kids/adults!  They managed all by themselves and reminded me that they are both in their early 20s so they are not totally helpless!  I was now the helpless one and they both kicked in to take excellent care of me.  Whew!  And talk about helpless.  You just don't realize how much you do for yourself until you can't anymore.  No more brushing my hair, no more contacts, no dressing or bathing myself and no driving.  But, the #1 thing, no knitting!  ARGH!

The funny thing about all of this - I didn't want to go on that bike ride.  I was almost finished with a pair of socks I had been working on for a while.  I told RL that I needed to finish them.  She said that if I was unable to finish them, she would do it for me!  Well, what do you know - I wasn't able to and she was true to her word.  Sweetest pair of socks I own!

IsThis Thing On?

Did you miss me?  I missed you guys.  I guess I should explain where I've been lately.  Like I said in the last post, I broke my elbow.  I don't know how I do the things I do.  When I was in first grade I broke my shin playing miniature golf.  So when I say I broke my elbow bike riding, you really shouldn't be surprised! 

Those bikes that were supposed to get our family on the move kind of landed us on the couch for a few months!  We were going out every evening for a bike ride and walk.  L and I would ride while R and RL would walk.  Having been on the bikes for a while, we got a little too comfortable.  L and I would go on ahead of the walkers and weave in and out of each other - we joked that we were practicing for the Christmas parade!  There we were just pedalling along and I decided to turn to the left.  I didn't realize that L was turning to the right.  He saw that I was turning into him and yelled at the top of his lungs.  Man, I wish I had listened in time to brake!  We ran right into one another.  Down he went and down I went on top of him.  Bless his heart, he broke my fall.  I thought I had broken his leg!  He was able to get up and 'walk it off'.  I wasn't so lucky.  When I went down, I landed on my elbow as well as him.  R and RL heard the crash, but didn't think it was us.  When they crested the hill, they saw us.  I don't know if I've seen them run that fast in ages!  The bikes were mangled and we were about a mile from home.  Apparently I was a lovely shade of green/gray and just couldn't stand.  A good Samaritan saw us and drove us home.  Off to the emergency room and two hours later we had a pretty firm diagnosis that it was broken. 

Here's the x-ray.  I circled the broken part.  Notice the part at the top right of the oval that kind of juts out - it's not supposed to do that!  Every move I made felt like I would pass out. 

Stick around and next time I'll share how surgery went.  Gee, it sure is great to be able to type with two hands again!

Closed For Remodelling

Not the blog - me! seems i broke my elbow and will need surgery tomorrow. we bought bikes to get into shape. well, I'm in a different shape now! i actually have another piece than when i started. i collided with L on our bikes and 'broke' my fall with my elbow. and - ironies of ironies - i finally found a knitting pattern I've been looking for for over a month! It will have to wait another month at least. what on earth am i supposed to do with only one hand?

I Think We Took a Wrong Turn in Albuquerque

L asked me to go with him on a bike ride Sunday night. Okay. I can do this. I waited until dinner digested enough and then we headed off into the cool evening. We normally bike about two miles every night while R and RL walk. They didn't want to walk, so we were on our own. We were almost to the point in our ride where we cross a very busy road, bike just a little longer and then turn for home. This particular night he asked if I wanted to go right instead of straight. Sure, I'm a cool mom! I'm adventerous! (NOT!) I'll do it. Off we went. It was beautiful! The trees in that particular housing development were gorgeous! Huge shadows were over the road. It was a little overcast and the breeze was blowing slightly. We realized we didn't have to peddle much, it was downhill! However, every 'downhill' turns into an 'uphill' on the way home. Suddenly I wasn't too sure about this anymore. Then I thought, what the heck. We have the cellphone. RL has the truck. If he needs to pick us up he can. That innocent right turn at the beginning of our ride turned into a four mile uphill almost all the way bike ride! The last time I had to breath that hard I had a Lamaze coach! I was truly tempted to tell him, "Go on without me. Leave me here by the road to die. Survival of the fittest. Carpe Diem." Well, it wasn't that dramatic. Maybe because I couldn't catch my breath to say all those things! L has the mentality of 'No man left behind' - or 'No Mom left behind' in this case. He would go ahead of me to the top of the hill and see what was ahead of us. Finally, after walking maybe a third of it, I started seeing familiar territory. No way was I going to call RL to come and get me when I was less than a mile from home. It was tempting though...... Finally we made it home. L kept checking my pulse - I didn't have to - I was thrilled I still had one. I'm not so sure I'll be able to convince my tush to get on that bike seat again anytime soon!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Four years ago, this blog started innocently enough. We had no idea what we were doing - and we still don't! We were homeschooling, but now we have two homeschooling graduates. We had all the answers about life that we needed, but now we don't have any answers! Our lives have drastically changed and we are trying to change with them. As most of you know, RL lost his Dad to lung cancer in January of 2009. I lost my Dad less than four weeks later from a ruptured blood vessel in his brain. Now we have two Moms who we are very concerned about. RLs Mom is still in Florida and my Mom lives about four miles from us. New challenges instantly arose trying to fill the huge gaps our fathers left behind. It hasn't always been easy and it doesn't get easier as time goes by. However it is a new life direction that we have willingly taken. As a result, blogging has gotten to be almost non-existent. I don't even know if there's anybody out there anymore!

Even Ginger is experiencing changes. Bless her heart. As of this week she is 16. And getting a little older comes with a few physical problems. She has developed kidney problems and we are babying her more now than ever. I think she really eats up the extra attention!

We don't sit around quite as much as we did before either. Before spring came along we got bikes. Every evening we head out for a bike ride. My knees don't like it, but hopefully they will adjust soon. North Carolina roads are not quite as flat as Florida roads - go figure! We also started Weight Watchers. Those stinkin' kids have lost more weight than me! I'm still plugging along, hoping I'll catch up with them soon.

As soon as R downloads some new pictures, I'll try to update you a little with knitting. I've been reading more than knitting this year, but I've managed to finish a few projects. So if you stick around for a while, I'll try to do better at updating.

Because Every Girl Wants Hairdo Options

R decided that Ginger needed a new hairdo. Thus the Hallowig pattern was adapted to fit her. I do wish that girl would use her powers for good..... Maybe Ginger will be more receptive to her new 'do' after the needles are removed. Frankly, I think it's a stunning look for her.

She's not always the lady you saw in the first picture. Sure, most of the time, but other times you just have to relax.

Sometimes you just have to cover your eyes and say, "I want to be alone."
Other times you just need to find your spot in the sun and soak it up.

I am OLD.....

This week was our annual visit to our eye doctor. We just love him. And he likes us too, which makes us like him that much more! He saves jokes for us all year and then we all cram in the little exam room to hear them. How on earth he can figure out what our prescriptions should be is beyond me with all that laughing going on! His staff is more like family than an office staff. They have a very dry wit, similar to ours, so we just zing each other the whole time we are there.

I think it was a couple of years ago when he decided that I needed to try mono-vision. Yes, I need bifocals. I told you I was old. Geez, weren't you listening? You young whipper snapper you! I hated it! I couldn't focus the way I wanted to. I complained to my Dad who had been doing it for years. He told me that his eye doctor told him, "If you have a brain, you can do it." Well, apparently I'm old and don't have a brain. I put up with it as long as I could stand it. Finally this year I told him no more! Wouldn't you know it, they have bifocal contact lenses now. I was sent home with a pair of those. They were okay, but he didn't have the strength I needed for my right eye. Next time I went in with RL and the kids, he had the right lens. So, I went home with another pair. At first I loved them. Then I realized I was seeing far away much, much better, but I couldn't read worth squat. So....he gave me another pair - for just seeing far away and told me to get reading glasses. Now I am trying to decide which pair I want to stick with. Regardless of what I decide, I will need reading glasses. L needed to go to Michael's, so I had him help me pick out some reading glasses while we were there. Have you seen cheap reading glasses? Seriously people! Isn't it bad enough that I am old and blind, but now I have to wear something that looks like crayons melted all over the frames. The color combinations are horrible! L offered to paint some for me. Might take him up on it! And, don't forget the rhinestones! You can put rhinestones on poop and you're still going to have poop! So now I have two new pairs of reading glasses - one for my purse and one for my knitting/reading area. What's next? Between new bras and new eyes, I'm becoming a new woman!

I'll try not to be so cantankerous next time I post. Maybe I just need a nap, I'm getting old you know.

Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder

Sometimes being a woman just sucks, doesn't it?

I am going to approach a delicate subject here - bras. For me, buying a new bra is like buying tires. You don't want to, but you know you need to. Maybe you drive around without as much tread as you should. Then one day, you have a blow out and you are faced with the inevitable. You HAVE to buy new tires. Well, that's what happened to me, but within the delicate world of bras. The last time I bought a bra, I was living in Florida. That was almost fourteen years ago. During that fourteen year period, I have gained a lot of weight. Unfortunately, bras don't grow with you. They will stretch with you until they can't stretch anymore, but they don't grow. I had the worst looking bras you ever saw and just prayed nobody besides me would ever see them. Then one day recently, I had a pain on the left side of my chest. I had been experiencing muscle pain for some time in my upper chest, but thought it was stress. I made an appointment with my doctor. Verdict? Mammogram to be on the safe side - new bra because it is necessary. Really? I can't wear this one for another fifteen years? I recruited Mom and headed to the store. They had some professional bra fitters there. Oh great! They're going to see my bra and report me to the National Bra Council for neglect! (Is there a National Bra Council?) Bless that wonderful woman! She measured me with my shirt on. Holy Moly! I wear that size now? What was that again? Surely I heard you wrong. Believe me, I am not bragging! I was flat chested for many years - before children - and I had accepted it. I come from a long line of flat chested women on my Mom's side. I was truly cool with it.

Let's flash back about 30 years ago. When I was a kid, we would visit my grandmother, on Daddy's side, on her farm in Tennessee. She had this 'contraption' that would hang on her wardrobe. We had NO idea what it was, but it looked like it took about two or three people to lace it up and tighten it onto you. Why would anybody have to wear something like that - said a very flat chested teenager.

Now we are back to the dressing room yesterday. I had walked past all these really cute bras. Underwires, floral prints, animal prints, black, white, red, lacy, you name it, they had it. The woman measures me and then says she'll be right back. Does she bring me an adorable little leopard skin bra with lace? No. She brought me freakin' body armor! Really? How on earth do you get all those hooks hooked up behind your back without any assistance. Then it hit me - I have become my grandmother! The lady finally came back with a bra that fastened in the front. Thank goodness. I could finally see what I was doing. Instantly my shoulders went back. My posture was 100% improved. She commented on the fact that 'they' were finally where they belonged and not down where they were. Gee, thanks.

We endure so many things - our 'monthly', childbirth, menopause and the joys of bras. Or as my sister eloquently put it - Over the Shoulder Boulder Holders. Ain't it great to be a woman?

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you're having a Happy Valentine's Day. We've had one.
RL surprised me by only working half a day - that was real treat! He brought me three yellow roses - my favorite - and a Snoopy card. We both love Snoopy, so it was perfect. R decided to make some cream biscuits. I had never had them before. They were pretty good.

Of course, I didn't taste much of the biscuit because it was smothered with whipped cream and strawberries! The breakfast of champions!
I finally had a nice day to take pictures of the socks I knit in January. The yarn was really kind of funky. Same dye lot, bought at the same time, started from the same place (roughly), same size needles, same pattern - totally different striping pattern. What's up with that????? Oh well - I don't think I've ever cared if my socks matched perfectly, so no big deal.

Stressed

I must remember that 'stressed backwards is desserts.' Unfortunately my waistline knows it! Maybe a diet isn't a good idea with Valentine's coming up....and having a great baker or two in the house doesn't help matters. However Stress has become my middle name and eating has become my latest past time. I'm trying to ignore the growling while I knit or read and try desperately to keep my mind on other things besides sweets.

I finally, finally, finally got around to taking some pictures of some sweet gifts. Luann made the cutest pins for R and me and sent them at Christmas time. I've been waiting for sunny days to take pictures and then I forget to take them! The sun has been quite rare lately so I'm going to use that as my excuse! I have no idea how on earth she knit these on toothpicks. Yes, she did knit them on the toothpicks. I would have cheated and used needles and then transferred them. This is one dedicated knitter. Thank you Luann! We both love them and appreciate your thoughtfulness.

These are my new sock blockers. I bought a great set of sock blockers from Loopy Ewe a few years ago. I love the crazy little designs on them and the bright red. Well, they got thrown around a little too much and they just broke. So taking pictures of new socks has been a little difficult. Hearing my whining once too often, Santa's elves took pity on me and got me a new set this past Christmas. Before I put socks on them, I HAD to share the way they were decorated. Aren't they cute? I've got a pair of socks waiting to try them out.

New Yarn, Laziness and Shortbread

I'm not sure that our computer woes are behind us, so I have been laying low. We've been busy keeping ourselves entertained with other things so we won't rely on this blankity-blank-blank computer so much. Thank goodness for the Nook I got for Christmas! I get my electronics fix and get to read some really good books at the same time! R and I went to the yarn store after Christmas and found some fibery goodness. I bought this beautiful Malabrigo. I'm not so wild about it now that it is knit up, but I hope it will grow on me. I made a Nook cozy out of it. I'll have to get some pictures soon so I can share. That is, if I decide I like it. If not, I might have some crinkled yarn to knit with after I rip it out!

This cold weather has made Ginger become fast friends with any warm body she can find. The other day we caught her cuddling up to L. She is normally on the couch, sitting on her fleece blanket with the heating pad set to low under her. For a cool kitty, she know how to stay warm.
The new recipes have been flying in and out of the kitchen. R decided she needs to try a new recipe every week. This particular week we had shortbread. The little dots are where she poked holes in it and put lemon curd and raspberry jam. I don't know about you, but that combination sounded pretty bad to me. I don't care for raspberries and I had never tried lemon curd. However, this was really, really good! I rule this recipe a keeper!

I hope everybody had a nice Chinese New Year. The kids made beef and broccoli on noodles and egg rolls. It was such a great dinner! L even cleaned up the kitchen! WOW! The kids wanted us to try eating with chopsticks. They are pros, so that wasn't even an issue with them. RL was too hungry and ate his dinner with a fork. Mom and I opted for beginners chopsticks. I call them chopsticks with training wheels! They are actually plastic and connected at the top so they are easier to maneuver. All was going well until Mom started laughing like crazy. I looked up and noticed that she had apparently squeezed a piece of broccoli a little too hard and it flew across the room. If I had been a couple of feet closer I would have taken a piece of broccoli to the forehead! It's a fork for her from now on!

We Had a Birthday Today

My baby girl is 23 today. I have NO idea where the time has gone. Seems like just yesterday I was 23 and she was born. She is such a great joy to our family.

Since I am 'not allowed' to post any pictures of her or her brother - their rule - you'll have to be content with pictures of her cake. Gone are the days of a Funfetti cake. She requested a 100% home made lemon cake. She made one last summer and loved it, so she wanted it for her birthday. Boy - what a lot of hard work! Half way through the cake I asked her why I couldn't just open a cake mix and use that. She informed me that there is 'no love' in a boxed cake mix. Well, there's plenty of love in this cake! About three or four hours of standing in the kitchen worth! And she is worth it, of course.

Happy Birthday Bean! We love you!

Bagels!

Seems like only last month I was trying to Christmas shop with L..... I was talking to him about what he wanted to get R. Some years he's needs input, but not this year! He knew exactly what he wanted to get for her. On one of the blogs she frequents, they mentioned a bread baking book. Seems somewhere along the way that she mentioned to him that if she got the book, she would make some bagels for him. My kids love bagels. (Does she know how to get her way or what????)

We had to wait until she wasn't around - which isn't often - and look on the internet for this particular book. He couldn't remember the name, but could remember the blog. So we scanned the blog and found it. Then we ordered it and the rest is history. True to her word, she made bagels. And what wonderful bagels they were. She needs to make some more. The above were cranberry with just a smidge of orange zest. The below picture shows one of the everything bagels. Plus she made plain. I think she made a dozen in all.

Tomorrow is her birthday, so I guess I'll have to do the baking for her. No bagels, but cake!

Believe It Or Not, I'm Still Here

What a mess our computer has been! And to make matters worse, I believe I am addicted to this stupid computer! We have been having crashes on a regular basis and I just don't want to take it anywhere and pay a hefty fee. The computer gurus at RLs work have been passing information onto me through RL. I've tried all the scans I can find. If worse comes to worse I can always update from Mom's computer. That is definitely my lifeline! What did we do before computers? Probably were very, very productive people! I've found that when I'm waiting for the scans to finish their jobs or when I'm waiting for it to turn on after it crashes that I am making great progress on some socks I started last week. I do have a little technology fix with my Nook. Thank goodness for that!

Speaking of the Nook, I just finished reading a very interesting book called 'Closely Knit on Scarlatt' by Ardath Mayhar. It's about a knitter who is an assassin. Guess what her weapon of choice is???? Steel knitting needles! After piercing my leg with a metal Knit Picks DPN, I think it is a feasible weapon! Now I have to pick what I will read next. Anybody read the "Outlander" series? I've been seeing a lot of interesting reviews on the Nook group on Ravelry.

Debbie, thanks for the info on the roller coaster. I'll be sure to pass it on to the Divine Miss M's parents. They will be thrilled - they just have to be!

I will close for now. No pictures to post yet - I don't want to press my luck. I'm fortunate to be doing this much right now!