Although I had a sinus headache all day, I drove to my in-law's farm, hooked up with my sister-in-law and we went shopping! Yes, nothing like an afternoon of shopping to brighten one's spirits! First we stopped at the ER to get my staples removed. The nurse had trouble with the specialized staple remover and had to resort to forceps to get the last staple (out of 2!) out of my scalp. The doctor said it's healing well but I may have a permanent squishy spot (no, not the bone itself, just a soft scalp bump) for the rest of my life. As long as my hair doesn't fall out, I can live with that. Things could have been much worse.
After that 30 minute visit we went to the all you can eat Chinese buffet where I managed to eat 2 plates of sesame chicken, garlic shrimp, lo mein, etc, and a bit of fruit for dessert. Next we dashed off to Peebles, to return a purse I had bought for a Christmas party that I never went to, and managed to find another purse I liked for me that was on sale to the tune of $19.74. This was a $94 leather purse. My SIL had to have one too! We hadn't planned on buying purses, but these should last, normally I buy cheap vinyl ones that look fairly ratty within a year. I also got myself a nice, simply structured fleece jacket for a whopping $4.20 plus tax. The color is a sort of burgundy. It will be a nice change of season coat for the future 50 degree temps I am predicting for April. (It's actually supposed to hit 40 tomorrow!)
Then, a little grocery shopping and we headed back to the farm for a nice meal with Hal and my in-laws. Hal brought me some sudafed (the kind that still has the real ingredient that actually decongests one's sinuses, not the placebo stuff they're selling now.) which finally killed off my sinus headache. We left for home at 8:30 pm.
Rocket and Luna spent the day at Uncle Butch's (which they love), almost 12 hours, but seemed happy to see me when they came home tonight. They were on their beds outside, enjoying the balmy 30f temperature but are inside now and gone to bed after getting their bedtime goodie. I brought their beds in tonight as it's supposed to rain/snow tomorrow. Hopefully, rain which will then turn to sunshine. Yes, that would be a nice end to my weekend.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Ice Hurts
A lot.
Especially when you are falling from a height of nearly 6 feet onto the back of your head.
It was not my intention Saturday morning to have such a fateful meeting of my head and the ice in the driveway, but on my short walk to the post office the slickness of the frozen water on the ground was more than my boot treads could handle.
To put it simply, I stepped forward and my foot did not stay where it was supposed to. Next thing I knew I was horizontal and falling onto my butt (thunk) and then backwards onto my skull (bigger thunk). After the first split second or 2 of utter shock, as the pain sunk in I let out an agonizingly loud howl. At this point I suspect Rocket and Luna, who were a short distance ahead of me probably, came back but I was too busy turning onto my stomach, crawling back to the less icy bits, and making a beeline, head down, back to the house. (There was blood, I can only assume such a position made me feel better.)
I called my neighbor, Uncle Butch because Hal was not home. I tracked him down at his daughter's house and he and his wife were there very quickly and after getting the dogs into the house, took me on the 5 minute drive to the hospital where Hal met me (having arrived first, after his dad found him at his camp).
Making this already long story shorter, I needed 2 staples in my scalp, some nice pills for pain and nausea (which at 12:30 am that night was HORRIBLE) and a lot of ice, the nice, kind, friendly type of ice that resides in a plastic bag. Needless to say, I had/have a concussion. My very first one. I hope never to have another. It was literally almost 48 hours before I began to feel as though I might recover. At least I did not pass out which could have been bad being alone in the woods with 2 dogs who are not very adept at playing at Lassie. Who knows how long I could have laid there?
Tonight, roughly 4.5 days later I am much better. I am still easily tired, the whiplash (yes, I got that too) is better, nausea rears its ugly head now and then but doesn't last, and my face doesn't feel numb/fuzzy. I managed to cook dinner without feeling as though it took too much effort, and it's been nearly 48 hours since my last pain pill. Sometime this weekend I return to the ER to have the staples removed. I hope by then the knot on my head will be gone and I'll be able to sleep on my back again.
Perhaps the ice in the driveway will have melted too. But the way winter is STILL hanging on, probably not.
Especially when you are falling from a height of nearly 6 feet onto the back of your head.
It was not my intention Saturday morning to have such a fateful meeting of my head and the ice in the driveway, but on my short walk to the post office the slickness of the frozen water on the ground was more than my boot treads could handle.
To put it simply, I stepped forward and my foot did not stay where it was supposed to. Next thing I knew I was horizontal and falling onto my butt (thunk) and then backwards onto my skull (bigger thunk). After the first split second or 2 of utter shock, as the pain sunk in I let out an agonizingly loud howl. At this point I suspect Rocket and Luna, who were a short distance ahead of me probably, came back but I was too busy turning onto my stomach, crawling back to the less icy bits, and making a beeline, head down, back to the house. (There was blood, I can only assume such a position made me feel better.)
I called my neighbor, Uncle Butch because Hal was not home. I tracked him down at his daughter's house and he and his wife were there very quickly and after getting the dogs into the house, took me on the 5 minute drive to the hospital where Hal met me (having arrived first, after his dad found him at his camp).
Making this already long story shorter, I needed 2 staples in my scalp, some nice pills for pain and nausea (which at 12:30 am that night was HORRIBLE) and a lot of ice, the nice, kind, friendly type of ice that resides in a plastic bag. Needless to say, I had/have a concussion. My very first one. I hope never to have another. It was literally almost 48 hours before I began to feel as though I might recover. At least I did not pass out which could have been bad being alone in the woods with 2 dogs who are not very adept at playing at Lassie. Who knows how long I could have laid there?
Tonight, roughly 4.5 days later I am much better. I am still easily tired, the whiplash (yes, I got that too) is better, nausea rears its ugly head now and then but doesn't last, and my face doesn't feel numb/fuzzy. I managed to cook dinner without feeling as though it took too much effort, and it's been nearly 48 hours since my last pain pill. Sometime this weekend I return to the ER to have the staples removed. I hope by then the knot on my head will be gone and I'll be able to sleep on my back again.
Perhaps the ice in the driveway will have melted too. But the way winter is STILL hanging on, probably not.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Organizing my CDs
I'm not very good at housekeeping (hate it) or organization (sign of creativity?) but after listening to Santana the other night and deciding we'd like to buy more music CDs I thought it might be a good idea to organize what we own. They're already arranged alphabetically on the shelves within categories like rock, classical, jazz. But I've got over 100 CDs so I thought it made sense to catalog them all in a database. Easier to keep track of what we own especially when they're often scattered all over the stereo equipment instead of in neat little rows.
So I spent a couple hours today using Window Me's poor excuse for a database, MS Works, trying to create this great compendium. There was a template and it even allowed space in each record (a record is what each entry is called) for 24 songs. Problem is many of my CDs are 2 disc sets. While it only took me 30 minutes to type in the information of 19 music CDs it took the other 1.5 hours figuring out how to add a second disc to each record. Normally, it would be intuitive because I spent years using both Excel and DBase IV. But this MS Works database is a castrated database and it fought me tooth and nail the whole way. I won despite the lack of directions and poor help menus, but my addition is not very neat looking. Still, it ought to be work fine till I get to my classic music where some composers are in 3 CD sets.
So I spent a couple hours today using Window Me's poor excuse for a database, MS Works, trying to create this great compendium. There was a template and it even allowed space in each record (a record is what each entry is called) for 24 songs. Problem is many of my CDs are 2 disc sets. While it only took me 30 minutes to type in the information of 19 music CDs it took the other 1.5 hours figuring out how to add a second disc to each record. Normally, it would be intuitive because I spent years using both Excel and DBase IV. But this MS Works database is a castrated database and it fought me tooth and nail the whole way. I won despite the lack of directions and poor help menus, but my addition is not very neat looking. Still, it ought to be work fine till I get to my classic music where some composers are in 3 CD sets.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A Little Santana
After a nice burrito dinner last night, Hal (have I mentioned that is what I am calling DH?) we decided to have a fire and a glass of coffee liquor and cream and listen to a little music. So we threw our only 3 Santana cds on the player and sat back with a little mood lightening and listened. A lovely way to spend 3 .5 hours. We have more actual music by Carlos Santana but it's all on LP (vinyl records for those unclear on the concept.) The cds we have were the first Santana album, the tribute album Supernatural and the newer one titled Ultimate Santana. The first two were wonderful. But we were disappointed by Ultimate. That one had a few songs from Supernatural, a few other newer numbers (notably "Into the Night") and a few excerpts from old standards.
When I bought the cd I did not know songs such as "Samba Pa Ti" and "Europa" would only be allowed approximately 4 3/4 minutes of playing time, then they were faded out. Sacrilege! It is very annoying to know there should be more great music coming and then have it faded out! I can only assume that the cd was created by the record company not for old Santana fans but potential fans who like the names of the other musicians on the cd. "See new person? If you like these songs, listen to these tidbits of other Santana numbers!" So it's likely Ultimate won't be played by us much any more. In fact it has prompted us to think about buying more Santana cds (so perhaps the marketing ploy worked after all?) We are also thinking about other groups that are notoriously lacking in our cd collection. After all, my record player hasn't worked in years, it's not like we're able to play those old LPs.
When I bought the cd I did not know songs such as "Samba Pa Ti" and "Europa" would only be allowed approximately 4 3/4 minutes of playing time, then they were faded out. Sacrilege! It is very annoying to know there should be more great music coming and then have it faded out! I can only assume that the cd was created by the record company not for old Santana fans but potential fans who like the names of the other musicians on the cd. "See new person? If you like these songs, listen to these tidbits of other Santana numbers!" So it's likely Ultimate won't be played by us much any more. In fact it has prompted us to think about buying more Santana cds (so perhaps the marketing ploy worked after all?) We are also thinking about other groups that are notoriously lacking in our cd collection. After all, my record player hasn't worked in years, it's not like we're able to play those old LPs.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Another Chicken Dilemma
So my chicken raising plans have changed yet again. This time it's because my husband seems to have developed an allergy to the egg whites of duck eggs. At this point we don't know if he's also allergic to chicken egg whites (or even if the yolks are also a problem) but for now we have to assume that is the case. It makes raising egg laying chickens a dubious proposition.
I could still go with buying only those Cornish X's, those are the chickens that have heart attacks before the age of 3 months (they should be processed before then) but what fun is having a bunch of birds for a couple months and then killing them all? What would I need a coop or hen house for? And where would I put all the frozen carcasses? I would have to buy another chest freezer.
So it makes more sense to find another kind of meat chicken, one that I could keep year round and cull a few now and then. It also makes sense to find a bird that doesn't lay hundreds of eggs per hen per year. (I suppose I could just buy cockerels (those are males for the uninitiated) but do I really want to hear 20 roosters crowing every morning? Do my neighbors?
I came across a chicken called the Dark Cornish which apparently those Cornish X's are bred from. It's a good forager, is not a great layer of eggs but the hens can be good setters and mothers. There are other tidbits of information I came upon but that's enough for this post. Also, I stumbled across another intriguing bird called the Buckeye, developed by a woman in Ohio at the start of the 20th century. A sweet bird that almost went extinct. Currently the Dark Cornish is easier to acquire, so at this point that is the way I am leaning. Besides, the Buckeye is cuter and perhaps harder to kill? I read a post somewhere where a kid said the Dark Cornish look like feathered dinosaurs. It's an apt description. But even if they're uglier than the "regular" chickens, I think I'll still let my husband "do the deed." For now anyway. I find lots of things other people deem ugly as cute.
I could still go with buying only those Cornish X's, those are the chickens that have heart attacks before the age of 3 months (they should be processed before then) but what fun is having a bunch of birds for a couple months and then killing them all? What would I need a coop or hen house for? And where would I put all the frozen carcasses? I would have to buy another chest freezer.
So it makes more sense to find another kind of meat chicken, one that I could keep year round and cull a few now and then. It also makes sense to find a bird that doesn't lay hundreds of eggs per hen per year. (I suppose I could just buy cockerels (those are males for the uninitiated) but do I really want to hear 20 roosters crowing every morning? Do my neighbors?
I came across a chicken called the Dark Cornish which apparently those Cornish X's are bred from. It's a good forager, is not a great layer of eggs but the hens can be good setters and mothers. There are other tidbits of information I came upon but that's enough for this post. Also, I stumbled across another intriguing bird called the Buckeye, developed by a woman in Ohio at the start of the 20th century. A sweet bird that almost went extinct. Currently the Dark Cornish is easier to acquire, so at this point that is the way I am leaning. Besides, the Buckeye is cuter and perhaps harder to kill? I read a post somewhere where a kid said the Dark Cornish look like feathered dinosaurs. It's an apt description. But even if they're uglier than the "regular" chickens, I think I'll still let my husband "do the deed." For now anyway. I find lots of things other people deem ugly as cute.
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