Delilah's Journal

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:58:26 GMT

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. ;~)

Battle of the Blades

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:17:57 GMT

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

Discussion question for Tolkien fans

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:56:30 GMT

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?

Two Lumps

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:05:18 GMT

*snicker* Had to share.

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

reality show I could get into

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:16:24 GMT

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.

Halloween pix

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:55:38 GMT

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

Bunny update

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:52:44 GMT

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*

Many thanks!

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:12:33 GMT

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.

Just because

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:07:38 GMT

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!

How Weird Are You?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

weekend and no weigh in

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:46:21 GMT

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.

no weigh in

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:35:53 GMT

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. ;~)

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:15:21 GMT

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.

weigh in

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:22:01 GMT

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!

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:14:04 GMT

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.

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:34:32 GMT

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.

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:13:55 GMT

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.

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:21:26 GMT

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*

an update, but not that update

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:51:07 GMT

I have finally caught up on my flist reading and do not have time to post about Dragon*Con. Hopefully will get to that in the coming week. In the meantime, here is what has been keeping me from posting:

Mental note: never, ever, ever schedule *anything* for the week after Dragon*Con, cos it will be forgotten. I remembered Monday night that Tuesday I was hosting the book club. Yikes! Happily the kitties did not trash the house too badly, so cleaning up was fairly easy. We had a pretty good discussion on "Persuasion", and then the next month's book was announced as "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" as a transition from Jane Austen to Halloween. Alas, all nine copies at the library are on hold, and the hostess has not yet made another selection, so I have nearly finished reading regular Pride and Prejudice on my own. I made the tentative suggestion of reading a classic horror tale like Dracula (oh please, oh please, oh please!), but don't know if I will be heeded.

The rest of the week was spent picking up patients for ESRN who went off on vacation almost as soon as I got back. Consequently have not had hardly any office time, and the tier 1 audits are due next Tuesday. *groan* We may have to lay down some ultimatums very soon on what I can and cannot do working only eight office hours a week. But I figure I should wait till after my big education gig that is coming up pretty soon. On the 23rd I go to a conference in Lexington, KY to learn about the new OASIS-C assessment, and then I will stick around for a coding class the next day; don't know if the Company will pay for it or not, but I don't care, I desperately need some coding exposure. Then during the month of October I get to run around all over Tennessee trying to impart my newfound knowledge to our various agencies. I'm sure it will be stressful, but I'm looking forward to it!

Today has been spent doing this and that. Tomorrow we'll go to Reduced Shakespeare in the Park, hopefully meeting a few friends for a picnic beforehand. Then next week I'm on call, yay joy.

knitting update: I am kinda disappointed that I didn't finish the first of Mimi's sox at Dragon*Con, but I think it's because it is no longer straight knitting. I have decided to do the leg in moss stitch (essentially knit purl knit purl knit purl) and then end with a couple inches of ribbing, which is a tinier bit more time consuming. I am about halfway done with that though. Since I hope to make this a Christmas present, I am working on nothing else until it is done. It will probably be the only other knitted gift I complete (if I complete it) before the holiday.

kitty update: Chocolate is doing pretty well, though she picked up a cold while she was boarded at the vet. Does not seem to have lost any more weight, may have gained some if our scale is right. Lillie has started marking on the bed again. Am going to try spraying the Feliway stuff on the bed each morning and see if that helps. Also going to bring her downstairs every night if at all possible for two reasons: 1) if she's down here, she's not depredating the bed; 2) the marking may be because she is lonely and bored upstairs, so bringing her down to socialize, even if it's just with me, may be what she needs. She seems happy right now, anyway, performing the time honoured kitty job of knocking things off.

Anyway, that is all I can think of to report for now. Will attempt the Con post sometime soon.

more on spot on flea treatments

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:24:39 GMT

Tigger posted this link, which has a little more info. I've still got the heebie jeebies about the whole thing, but at least it is being looked into.

http://www.examiner.com/x-5779-LA-Cat-Care-Examiner~y2009m8d30-EPA-increasing-scrutiny-of-spoton-flea-treatments

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:11:56 GMT

This is from an email Mom sent me, it is only second hand from her so probably fairly reliable. Don't know if anyone on my flist uses these type of flea treatments, but thought I would put it out there just in case.

"Lastly, I'd rather not write this but I have to. Several weeks ago, facing a mid-summer flea infestation, we put Advantage flea treatment on four of our cats. We used the smallest dose, one recommended for kittens as young as six weeks old. One of the cats, our beloved Fifi, died within hours. The other three cats are not in good shape, exhibiting obvious neurological problems. None of these cats had any health problems before they were dosed with Advantage."

"I would strongly recommend that no one use Advantage, Frontline, or any such "top spot" or "spot on" flea remedies. The EPA announced earlier this year that they were suddenly seeing a 50% spike in complaints of "adverse reactions" from these products and are conducting an investigation. Again, this class of flea products (and the EPA probe) covers not just the Hartz Mountain cheapo stuff you buy in the supermarket, but the expensive Frontline, Advantage, etc. sold by vets. Significantly, we had used both Advantage and Frontline on our cats and dogs in previous years, including on Fifi, with no obvious ill effects. Putting these products on your pet is playing Russian Roulette."

The weekend

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:08:43 GMT

Well, I suppose it could have been worse, though it's hard to imagine how. I had five patients to see on Saturday, including one admission and one post-hospital, and one patient in Gallatin (roughly 30 miles north of the city) and one in Ashland City (roughly 30 miles *south* of the city), and one patient who had dialysis who told me not to come if he wasn't home when I called. Sunday there were four on the schedule, including one timed IV change and Ashland City again. So here's the blow by blow:

Saw first patient, post-hospital with IV antibiotics around 8 PM spend a little over an hour with him.

On the way to second patient stop for a potty break and a bottle of water. Get to second patient just after ten, spend an hour with him.

On the way to next patient stop at Kroger for gas and then Sonic for lunch. Get a wrap which drips down my front. Attempt to clean this up without running off the road. Finish the wrap and attempt to take a sip of limeade, only to discover lid was not properly affixed to cup and end up pouring a significant amount into my lap. The fact that I only cussed a bit and still did not run off the road while mopping that up is a testament of the control I had at the time. Arrived at the patient's house feeling a little sticky, but otherwise capable. This was the Gallatin patient, also the IV admission, but the daughter is an RN and so is easily able to handle his care. Also, the patient is a frequent flier with us, so the admission is done pretty quickly. However, it is here that I get a call from Scheduler. ACRN, recently back from meternity leave, had offered to see three patients for me. She is now backing out of that, apparently because she is having a mental breakdown of some sort. Scheduler says she was sobbing so hard during the phone call she could barely understand her. Not sure how I'm going to fit in the extra three, but figure I'll worry about that when I get back to the office to look up their info. Use the bathroom before I leave, and then head to Ashland City.

Almost got an angry call from this patient asking where the hell I was, you said you'd be here by two and it's now three, but I diffused that by pointing out that it is actually 2:30 and BTW I just pulled into your driveway. After finishing with her, I call the dialysis patient, who is home by now (after three) and says to come on.

Stop at McD's on the way for a potty break and a latte, which greatly relieves the headache I have had since mid-morning. Finish with him and head back to the office; it it now after five (remember all the driving I had to do).

Gather info on the other three patients and attempt to call them. The two that are closest to the office are not answering. I call scheduler who also doesn't answer, leave message stating that if I can't get hold of these two they will not get seen tonight. After I hang up with her, one of them calls back. Apologize for being so late, explaining someone had called out (what else could I say?). Called the other one and now he answers, again apologize and give my excuse, then get ready to leave. Third patient is at a facility, which I called earlier saying I would be late. One more potty break before leaving the office; I have to admit, by now I am not exactly smelling fresh as a daisy.

Next patient I have to fight with the storm door and keep the guy's beagle from coming out with me, but otherwise okay. Patient is particular, but I do what he tells me and we're okay.

Second patient lives literally across the road from train tracks. A train went by as I'm changing his dressing and blows its whistle, and did I mention the front window is open? So much for my nerves. This patient, and his wife, are even more particular, make visit take twice as long as it should. *sigh*

When I leave it is dark, about quarter to eight. Call facility again to make sure it is okay to come this late; they say come on. On the way get call from a patient who has some kind of infusion which will not run. I talk him through several troubleshooting tips with no luck. Finally tell him I'll call him back when I get done with next patient and come by to help him.

Last scheduled patient is already in bed, but arouses easily and doesn't appear too put out about the late visit. Change her dressing with materials from my bag, cos I sure can't find anything in her room. Grumble about not having clear orders for her wound care.

Call IV patient back to find out where he is; he lives in the retired teacher's tower in Metrocenter. (I now withdraw the unkind thoughts I had about his intelligence) Metrocenter is not a bad part of town, but it is way too close to the projects (surrounded on three sides in fact) for my comfort. I decide to take my new pepper spray with me from the car to the building, and probably freaked out the guy that opened the door for me. Manage to get in and out in 15 minutes; the extension tubing had some air bubbles in it, and for some reason that was keeping the infusion from flowing, cos when I changed the extension it ran fine. Back to my car without mishap and home by 10 PM. Have dinner, shower, and go to bed.

Next morning get up at seven to go to 8:30 Mass before seeing patients. On way to first patient call scheduler and leave message, asking if ACRN is working today or not.

Go see second patient. While there get text from scheduler who says she doesn't know, maybe I should find out. Send a quick text to ACRN who replies "no, didn't scheduler tell you?". (Scheduler didn't know, cos she could barely understand what ACRN was saying between sobs, apart from "I can't work today")

Call Scheduler to let her know, while on the way to Ashland City patient. After some discussion on ACRN's unreliability (nothing new for her), she agrees to see the two patients who are on her side of town if I will see the lady in the facility on my side of town. See Ashland City patient, grab lunch at Sonic on the way back to town, and manage not to make a mess this time. Also stop for gas before quite leaving fair Dickson county.

See facility patient, no problems. Finish paperwork in car and look at clock. Next patient not due to be seen till four, it is 2:30. *sigh* I go home, kiss my husband, brush my hair, take off my nail polish, use the bathroom, kiss my husband again, then go to see the last patient.

Made a complete fool of myself. Patient has continuous IV infusion and bag is to be changed. I need to spike bag and purge air from tubing. There appears to be a plastic clamp on the bag port. I ask the patient if this clamp comes off and he says yes. Nearly break my thumbnail trying to get it off with no success, eventually figure out that it is *not* supposed to come off, there is another port I am supposed to use, but not until after I have spoken with the nurse on call for the IV company. Feel really stupid now and almost forget to flush the patient's ports before hooking up the IV. *SIGH* Get out of there quickly and finish paperwork in car, then finally head home. Work on paperwork for while after dinner then veg for the rest of the night.

And this morning I learn that ACRN has decided to check herself back into the hospital (probably psych ward) and will not be able to work with us for a while. I'm sorry, I know she has a lot of personal problems and health problems and probably is suffering from postpartum depression, but could she not wait until she is ready to take on the responsibility before she commits to work with us again. I hesitate to speak ill of any woman's pregnancy or postpartum period, because it's sure to be bad karma, but this is really too much.

On for this week: Tuesday work at office and see Gallatin patient (who will be mine for reasons too complicated to get into at the moment) for labwork. Wednesday take in car (which has actually been behaving itself) for oil change and trip check, then see Gallatin patient again for dressing change and to get in two visits this week (not my idea). Thursday gather ourselves together, pick up FM, drop Chocolate off to be boarded (she's getting better, back up a couple ounces), then charge off to Atlanta for the craziness that is Dragon*Con. Don't expect to hear much more from me until next week.

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:09:51 GMT

Okay, I did survive. Will post tomorrow, God willing and no one calls in sick.

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:47:38 GMT

Day from hell on call today. Details tomorrow, if I survive...

This is an ambivalent day

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:03:13 GMT

It started pretty well. There was a torrential downpour this morning and our downstairs bathroom stayed dry, so hurray for that.

Then I heard a story on NPR about Reading Rainbow not getting renewed by PBS. And that is not even as depressing as the reason why. PBS has apparently decided that they need to concentrate on shows that teach children to read, and therefore shows about the joy of reading are a "luxury". While I can acknowledge the irony of a TV show telling kids to go read a book, I still think Reading Rainbow is every bit as important as Sesame Street. I'm not sure that Between the Lions (another PBS show about reading) quite captures what Reading Rainbow does. Pity Levar Burton isn't going to be at Dragon*Con this year; I bet at least one person would ask how he felt about this.

Later on I decided to begin the gargantuan task of reloading my CDs onto my harddrive. I did not back up all of my music, because obviously I already *have* backup discs. The only music I put on my harddrive backup were things I had downloaded from the internet, and some of my more rare CDs, like the Rockapella Japanese CDs, and a CD of an Australian a cappella group that seems to no longer exist. Unfortunately I did not think to back up my two Carmen Sandiego CDs. When I went to put in the first one I noticed it was pretty beat up, and I could actually see daylight through bits of it. It did not play well, and I finally gave up trying to rip it. The second disc had a few bobbles here and there, but on the whole copied well, so hurray for that. Now I need to find a replacement copy of the first one, though, or at least somewhere to download the tracks that I feel I can't do without. I don't suppose anyone can suggest where I might find such?

And on a Rockapella note, Kevin Wright has decided to leave the group to pursue other interests. Admittedly I have grown very disenchanted with Rockapella since the last charter member, Elliott Kerman left, some five or six years ago. They have not put out a new record since then (though Scott Leonard, the chief songwriter, did make a solo CD a little while ago), and the few times I have seen them in concert since then they are so very different (too polished and choreographed) that I cannot reconcile myself to the new sound without a CD to help me along. Since they have provided none, I have lost interest in them. But I am very sorry to hear Kevin is leaving; he was certainly the sweetest (though Scott was my crush) and always recognized my at concerts as "the poetry girl" since I had written limericks for them. *Sigh* It just isn't the same group I used to know and love, and now it's becoming even less so.

Nothing else to report right now. On call this weekend, which promises to be a busy one. At least ACRN is back from maternity leave, so I haven't had to make any visits this week for a change.

I need to go on a shoe fast

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:35:23 GMT

It started innocently enough. I had decided that I needed a cute pair of plain(ish) black shoes for Dragon*Con, and so I went to Shoe Carnival, where I have always had very good luck at fulfilling all my shoe needs and the people are very nice and give good deals. So I pull into the parking lot, and much to my distress see that the Shoe Carnival is gone, their store empty and "for lease". After sitting in the car and fuming for a moment, I decide on the second best thing, which is DSW, and which happens to be in the same shopping center (possibly why Shoe Carnival went under *sigh*). So I loop around the parking lot and park in front of DSW, walk up to the front door and...it's locked. The store doesn't open till ten, and it is now just 9:30. *grrrrrrr*

Fumed about that for a few moments more before deciding I would just have to go home and come back out later, though I am ruing the wasted time and gas. As I am pulling up to the stop light I notice the Super Petz is right across the way. Hey, I think, I need to get a feliway diffuser refill, let me get that here, and maybe I can waste enough time for DSW to be open. So I did that, only Super Petz doesn't have diffuser refills, only the diffuser itself. *sigh* I do, however, get a cute doorknob toy for Lillie (or whoever decides they like it) while I'm in there. Then I head to Petsmart, which is the next shopping center over. I notice the Clothes Mentor on my way there, and briefly think about looking for shoes in there, but decide that might be too dangerous, as there is way more than cute shoes I might find in there. Happily Petsmart does have the refill so I get it, and look at their selection of toys before heading back in the direction of DSW.

They have only been open for ten minutes, and I think I am the first customer to walk in. Oh well, eager beaver, that is me. So remember, I wanted a cute pair of black shoes that I could wear at Dragon*Con. Main requirements were: black, with little embellishment, so they would go with both my new Susan dress and my sexy red and black corset, and comfortable to walk/stand in all day. Looked briefly at boots, then made my way back to the clearance racks. Found a very cute pair of Mary Jane style clogs, leather with a suede flower sewn on. They fit and were comfortable, but I wasn't sure if clogs were a good idea for Dragon*Con. I decided, though, that they were too cute to pass up, so decided to get them with whatever other pair I discovered. Very close by was a nice pair of Skecher Mary Janes with a bit of a wedge heel. They were black with a bit of muted gold that matched my Susan dress perfectly. I tried them on and walked around in them for quite a bit, trying to determine how they would wear. Kept them on while I looked at the rest of the clearance rack, and had pretty much decided to get them when I saw a totally cute pair of black flats with purple and teal embellishments. Against my better judgment I tried them on; they fit well. I already knew I wanted the other two pairs I had already tried, and now I really wanted these as well. It was the teal that did me in; I've been wanting a shoe with that colour in it, since I wear a lot of teal. I quickly calculated the discount I would get on each pair, decided that if I don't by *ANY MORE SHOES* until something needs to be replaced I could kinda, sorta justify it, winced a little, then gathered up all three boxes and bought them all.

So you hear that, oropher_777? I am not allowed to buy shoes I don't need. Please don't tempt me. Lead me not unto temptation, esp shoe stores!