Today's XKCD was pretty cute.

Leaving for Atlanta very shortly.

Well, apart from going in for the weekly meeting on Tuesday, I have not worked at all this week. It was kinda nice, got some stuff done around the house, ran errands, and was even a little domestic. I also worked on Mimi's sox and another crafty gifty, which is for someone on the flist, so I will say no more about it. Capping off this delightful unexpected vacation is a weekend with the lovely oropher_777, and then on Monday I may feel like seeing patients. Actually, there is nothing I would like more than to be a housewife, but without any actual kids to take care of, I would feel dreadfully guilty about not helping contribute to the household income. Methinks I need to look harder into training for home health coding. Judging from what I have seen on career builder that would make me a little more marketable, and if I'm going to have all this free time on my hands...well then.

Knitting update: Almost halfway up the leg of Mimi's second sock, and I CANNOT WAIT to get to the 20 rows of ribbing at the top. I don't know why, but the knit 1, purl 1 pattern drives me batty, whether it be a rib or seed/moss stitch. Since I am often knitting for something brainless to do, it may be that it requires a bit more brain. It does not help that I just finished swatching for a scarf that I am going to take on the plane to Arizona (attending the SIL's wedding) since the skinny metal double pointed needles I use for sox might look less harmless to the TSA than my pretty new rosewood needles. This has given me a taste of other projects, and I so can't wait to finish the sox so I can do something else, but since it is a Christmas present I am determined to work on nothing else until it's finished. *sigh* Anyway...

Kitty update: I think progress has been made, and we really didn't do too much ourselves. Lillie was getting pretty bad about marking on the beds of either bedroom, so those are now totally off limits to all kitties. (Except at night, when we leave our bedroom door open so the kitties can sleep with us) So now that she has less territory upstairs, Lillie is forced to explore downstairs, and she has been doing so. She will often follow me into the kitchen, and sometimes she even comes as far as the office to sit in my lap at the computer. She still doesn't get on with the other kitties, though she and Chocolate tolerate each other, but who knows, maybe that will get better too. Time alone will tell.

Before I forget, with the snarking and bitching to come, Happy birthday to sailingwest!!! :~)


( That said... )

Thank you to all who responded to my Tolkien post. I felt all of your comments raised good points about the work, though of course, we may all be a bit biased. ;~)

Hmm, well, I watched the most recent episode and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was very much show skating, though I did think Jaime Sale and Craig Simpson had a good program with enough difficulty to make it interesting. The rest was kind of meh, but I'll probably still try to see who wins in the end, since they are down to three couples

Ary recently mentioned to me that a Russian friend of his refuses to read any of the Middle Earth books or watch the movies because she was told the orcs were based on the Russians (?!) and she feels Tolkien was racist. (Correct me if I have represented that wrong, Ary) In a similar vein, I have always felt that it was fairly obvious that the Haradrim and Southrons were based on Africans in general, whether intentional or not, and there is a slight vibe of "white people good, black people bad". I cannot deny that this is also racist, but I also know that Tolkien was from the generation of my great-grandparents, and that was how they were raised.

What are your thoughts, flist? Was Tolkien racist, and how does that colour your reading of the stories?

*snicker* Had to share.

http://www.twolumps.net/d/20091104.html

Apparently Canada has "Battle of the Blades" (or something like that) which is like "Dancing with the Stars" except that it pairs figure skaters with former hockey players. As if that wasn't amusing enough, Kurt Browning is one of the commentators, while Dick Button is the judge. Those of you familiar with figure skating should be aware that Dick Button is to figure skating what Simon Cowell is to American Idol, more or less.

I heard about this silliness on Morning Edition, and when I went to the website to check it out, there was a comment from a Canadian who complained that NPR only reports on Canada when it's something weird like this or something border-related. Y'know, I think he's right. So much for their balanced and fair coverage. :~p

Edit: Okay, here is the website It seems Sandra Bezic joins Dick Button on the judging panel, along with someone I've never heard of. I am most amused. I must check this out when I have some time to kill.

For anyone who is interested, here are the pictures from our Halloween party.

Pippin will be going under the knife on Thursday, so continue to send prayers and good vibes. The vet is very positive, though, so we may have some good news. *positive thoughts*

To eldritchhobbit and jtriskell for the cute little virtual bday gifties. They are much appreciated. *hugs*

Had a very nice birthday weekend. Yesterday went to the Music and Molasses festival at the Ellington Ag Center. Was pretty much a little fall fest with local crafts and vittles booths, a little bit of (so-so) music, and an encampment of local re-enactors. Paul and Kim were there in their garb, and sailingwest also joined us, in her garb as well. We wandered around the booths and Kim and I made a beeline for a booth selling wools and fleeces. I wasn't even in the booth before I spotted a lovely skein of yellow variegated wool that called to me and I knew I had to get it. I was going to get both of the ones there, when nearby I found a similar skein in forest green. I showed them to Kim and asked if she thought they would look well together. She agreed that they would then asked, "What are you going to make?" I replied, "I dunno, I'll figure that out later." I am my mother's daughter after all.

I had kinda hoped we might get a few Christmas gifts here, but it didn't happen. Bought a small bottle of sorghum molasses, a loaf of molasses oat bread, some hot cider to drink, and some cold cider (blueberry and black cherry) to save for later.

After that we went to April and Chip's for grilled steak and corn (the latter we also picked up at the festival) and other nibbles and then played a round of Arkham Horror. It was kinda complicated and I was pretty much just doing what I was told, but it was a cooperative game, so that worked well. We did waken an old one, but we managed to blow it away with dynamite. :~)

Today went to Church, called the family, then went out to the Melting Pot for a late lunch/early dinner. We had a coupon for a free chocolate fondue with purchase of entree, which is why I had picked it. Got quite stuffed before we left and had to belch several times before I felt comfortable. It was very good, and I'm sure I will regret it at weigh in tomorrow. Though I did choose the canola oil broth for our entree, and I drank only water and a decaf coffee with dessert. We'll see if that helped. ;~p

Pressie report: Ary gave me a full-length mirror (very pretty with cherry finish to match our bedroom suite) and a copy of the latest Terry Pratchett Disc World Novel "The Unseen Academicals", as well as getting me coral roses and Peruvian tulips, which are very pretty. From Mom I got a CD by Bob Zentz, a local folk singer in their area, and a cute little rainbow wool cap, which I then wore to church. From Dad I got a CD/DVD combo of Barenaked Ladies; he had already previewed it and decided I would like it. And from sittingduck1313 I got "Knitting Rules" a book by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the Yarn Harlot, which kinda surprised me, but he wisely pointed out that it was a high priority on my Amazon wish list. Makes sense to me.

From oropher_777 who got the same result:

You Are 40% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too damn weird to do anything about it!

The main event of the weekend was going to the Mt Olivet candlelight cemetery tour. Our friends Paul and Kim were at the Ryman Grave portraying Captain Ryman (of Ryman auditorium) and his wife. Of course, we probably would have gone even if they weren't in the show, but that was a nice added bonus. The tour takes you to various graves of prominent Nashvillians, and the "ghosts" emerge and tell you a little about themselves and usually their part in the Civil War, aka the war of northern aggression. It's always very informative, and usually entertaining, though some of the ghosts do give a somewhat stilted performance. Adelicia Acklen and John Bell (no, not that John Bell) were some of the first graves we went to, and they are the only ones that make a repeat appearance from year to year, since they try to show off different people each year. There were several officers of the confederate army, and a couple husband-wife graves, as well as the Rymans. I have to say I liked Paul and Kim best, and not just because they're our friends. Being an actual married couple, they were able to present their characters with that "old married couple" vibe that really sold the performance. I also liked their closing line: "We enjoyed meeting you, and please come back when you can...stay!"

Also sailingwest was on the tour as a costumed guide, and we were lucky enough to get her in our group so we were able to chat with her between graves, and after the whole thing was over. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad we made it this time, instead of getting stuck in traffic between here and Clarksville.

Didn't have a weigh in yesterday, cos as soon as Ary got home (nearly) we jumped in the car and hurried off to Cookeville for a 50 year anniversary party for one of his scout leaders. And if Mr Ozzy is even partly responsible for Ary turning out the way he did, I am very grateful.

Gonna be busy for a while. This week TBRN is on vacation, so of course ESRN had to call in sick yesterday and today. (Doesn't she know that is not allowed?) So I am having to help out in the field even more than usual, and I still need to finish the monthly chart audit. It is due on Thursday, and I'm kinda thinking it may not make it this month. Next week is the first week of OASIS training: I get to practice on the Nashville office first, then I spend two days at the Monterey office training their clinicians. Monterey is close to Cookeville, so I will probably spend an evening with the in-laws while I am there. The week after that is free, then the first week of November I am training the Murfreesboro, McMinville, and Tullahoma offices. I will be staying in Manchester for the latter, and as soon as I am done with that on Friday the 5th I am jumping in my car and blasting off the rest of the way to Atlanta to spend some quality girl time with oropher_777 et al. I am doing this because Ary is going to be having a gaming retreat with the guys that very weekend, and I hate being alone in the house when he goes off like that. Our friend Carinda will look in on the kitties and give Chocolate her medicine.

Oropher, remember I am on a shoe fast, lead me not unto temptation! Looking forward to seeing you again.

Our leader did not make it to weigh in tonight because she had to take her Hubby to the ER with a BP of 193/110, or something similar. Please send good vibes their way.

knitting update: Have finished the first sock for Mimi, and it turns out that one of the Patons skeins of sock yarn is just enough for one crew sock. Handy thing to know. Am feverishly working on the second one, having tried a slightly different cast on, we'll see if the unzipping is any easier this time.

Saturday night Ary and I watched The Haunting. It was pretty cool, different from the book, of course, but not in a way to detract from the general spirit (heh) of the story. There were no actual apparitions, but with the black and white and the lighting and shadows, and lots of marble statues and mirrors, you felt you didn't need any. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes that kind of movie. One of the special features was a kinda history of suspense films, and it mentioned The Uninvited as the first "seriously scary" ghost story movie. (I would certainly agree with that descriptive) Admittedly the lack of apparitions meant that The Haunting did not give me quite as much trouble sleeping as I expected, but I am not terribly upset about that you understand. ;~)

I like it when the book of the month is a short one; I've gotten a lot of reading done this month because of it. Finished Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibilty, Sunshine (vampire smut novel by Robin McKinley) and am about halfway through Deerskin, Robin McKinley's totally unbowdlerized rendering of Donkeyskin by Charles Perrault. And I still have three weeks till the book club meeting, so I can probably finish Deerskin and start on something else at the very least before the next book is picked. I haven't done this much reading in I don't know how long; it feels good!

My knitting is suffering, though. Finally got to the ribbing on Mimi's sock. I've got till Christmas to finish it and a second one just like it.

Chocolate has gained about 6 oz, so the vet wants to keep her on the same regimen and do monthly checkups. Through all this she has never acted "sick", or behaved as if her quality of life is suffering so we feel justified in continuing this care. Lillie, meanwhile has been making bold forays downstairs on her own, usually coming as far as whatever room I am in. Today she got as far as the library (where I was folding laundry) before Rhianna chased her back upstairs. *sigh* But it is progress.

Down 3 lbs!!! I lost what I had gained, with interest. If I can stop the seesawing I have been doing of late, I would really like to be at 150 before the holidays hit.

Tomorrow I leave after lunch and head up to Lexington for a two day conference put on by the Kentucky Home Health Association. All paid for by my company, though some of it I will have to pay for up front and then get back later. Looking forward to it, but expect to be lonely in my hotel room for two nights. :~( Will bring books, my knitting, and visit the fitness center to try to combat that.

Get back late Thursday, so hopefully will not need to work much on Friday. Nothing much on Saturday, so maybe I can actually start on my Dragon*Con post. Sunday the Smial is having a belated Baggins Birthday Bash. Whee!

I have finished the Haunting of Hill House. The ending was a bit strange, not quite what I was expecting/hoping for. I was kinda disappointed, but this was mainly because I wanted to know exactly who was causing all the various manifestations, since it seemed there were at least two or three different spirits floating around. I can kinda guess, though. And I gather that Shirley Jackson doesn't think much of ghost hunters with ouija boards trying to "commune with the spirits", at least judging with the way she caricatured a particular character. Over all it was a good read, and pretty quick, too. I will probably read it again before the meeting, which is not till 10/20, so I will probably need to refresh my memory anyway.

I'm pretty sure the movie will be a little more sensational; will be very interested to see it.

Somewhat against my better judgment I have reserved The Haunting at the library, this being the 1963 movie adaptation of Haunting of Hill House. It looked deliciously suspenseful in the clip on Amazon, much like The Uninvited from around the same era. There is something about a horror film in black and white that makes it so much creepier. I'm sure I won't be able to sleep for a week after watching it, but that is the price I pay.

The book of the month was finally selected. The hostess decided to stick with the Halloween theme, but did not take any of my suggestions. (I guess I will have to pick Dracula myself then) Instead she picked "The Haunting of Hill House" (which my dyslexic brain keeps wanting to turn into "The House on Haunted Hill", is that an actual book as well?) by Shirley Jackson. I was a tiny bit put off by the blurb on the back, which made the story sound very formulaic. But having started it I found that the blurb did not quite get it right, and it is actually very enjoyable. I think it is because it was written in the late 1950s; with a few exceptions, modern writers just don't know how to write like that anymore. Anyway, I am already over halfway through it, which should tell you how well I like it. Unfortunately I have to be careful about reading it too late at night, because my imagination will run right away with it.

From jtriskell: Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.


Here were mine:

1) CATS (musical)
While my devotion to the show has lessened over the years, it will always hold a special place in my heart as the indirect means by which I met my husband arymetore. If not for Cats and the internet, we might never have met at all. And it is the embodiment of my idea of a perfect musical, mostly music and dancing with very little plot to get in the way.

2) cats (animals)
I have always had cats in my life, even before I was born; my mother's cat Lydia decided to have her kittens in my crib. (My grandmother was not amused) They are beautiful and friendly when you get to know them, and they like being petted and they purr to let you know this. I would call myself a lover of most animals, but cats are my particular favourite.

3) Renaissance fairs
A great chance to dress up and pretend to be in a different time while still hanging onto a few modern conveniences and mores.

4) fiction/reading
Most of my reading is fiction, and when I read nonfiction, I prefer a storyteller mode. I guess because I like telling stories myself I also like to hear/read them.

5) fanfiction/writing
I dabbled in fan fiction briefly with my Cats fandom, trying to combine it with my Star Trek fandom. The results I now find somewhat cringe-worthy, but they are still up for viewing until geocities shuts them down (which should be the end of October I think). I have wanted to be a published writer for a very long time, but have not written anything seriously since my school days, except for a brief time when I took a writing course by mail. Still haven't produced anything publishable, and now I find I can't read anything without critiquing it the whole way, so not sure if that was a good idea or not. I keep hoping some day I'll have the time to write a novel, but at this point I don't even know what it would be about. My muses have pretty much abandoned me. *le sigh*