A Good Year

Perhaps I should have called it, "A Momentous Year."  Or even, "A Year of Grand Change."  Oh, there are too many other titles to bestow on this year - always speaking in the familial - but it definitely was a year of accomplishment and change, tumult (the good sort) and beginnings/endings.

At this time of year it is common to concentrate on being thankful, on joyous celebrations of coming together, burying the hatchet, seeing the good in everyone (even if there is none in some folks to see).  It is the time folks reflect on the year as it races towards another finish line, and think themselves better off, or better people, or whatever form of improved they care to blind themselves with.

However, under the heading of "my sons," it truly was a year to be thankful for.

Karl graduated from junior college with 2 Associate's, and

Brian married his lovely friend and partner, Angela.
Even I was able to come by a full time job this year ('bout darn time!).

No, I won't spend paragraphs going on and on about any of this.  Suffice to say, thank you, God, for all of your love and goodness.

But I will ask: why does it seem as though the majority of us only wait until this time of the year to be thankful for the many blessings which come our way over the course of 365 days?  Shouldn't we be more diligent in our thanks, prayers, and praise when the blessings occur?  Think about it... then respond appropriately.

With love and gratitude -

Salute to my mom

Shot a good number of photos at breakfast following the shower; and here are three important people being silly at the table.

Really...I can't take them anywhere.

Happy Mother's Day - I love you.

Wazzup?

Since the last post, a lot has happened/ended/improved/come-and-gone.  Here is just a sampling.

Been living from Tuesdays to Thursdays to get K-dub through his compressed college course, and he ended with a solid A!  Yea, Karl!  He even used the opportunity to get up IN FRONT OF THE CLASS AND SPEAK for an additional (but totally unnecessary) fifteen extra credit points, using as a topic one of his written assignments throughout the course.  I am so very proud of him for following through and taking the class when he really wanted to drop out of it all those weeks ago.

Brian went to a tournament in Chicago over the weekend, and had his own brand of epiphanies.  We'll see where it takes him over the coming weeks/months.

Must head to the library to take an online aptitude test (job-related), as our internet connection is so slow, and more than occasionally takes a diaper break in the middle of every operation.  Would hate for that to happen during the typing test portion.

Have gotten halfway through RowD, and can now begin to look ahead to RowE.  One-quarter of the quilt is nearly OFFICIALLY complete, and I am excited to say the least.  A far cry from being in the first row with so much to look forward to.  I confess, I believed wholeheartedly that the process would go faster - especially after the first few squares, but adding material (colors) to the palette seems to have made it more difficult and time consuming.

Dropped online a couple of days ago to log the computer off for the evening, and saw that my lovely friend Maria was online, and in her google account.  By the time my home internet connection allowed the correspondence box to open up....she had signed out.  I was disappointed to have missed the chance to face-to-face with her. [sigh]  I hope she is doing well, and that her summer classes have brought her closer to reaching her immediate goals.  Miss you, Maria!

OK, time to stop burning daylight.  Enjoy your days and be well, everyone.

Dropping like flies

The headcount of those ill continues to grow around the ol' casa, now numbering three-of-six. That's two humans and one feline to be specific.

Hobbes seems to have been the first one of us to fall, followed closely by Brian. 'Beana' (Hobbes to you uninitiated blog readers) is the eldest of our furry family members, and had a high metabolism which keeps her constantly hungry. Although, for all of the eating she does, she never tops anything more than five or six pounds on the scales - if THAT. Her cold keeps her sniffing throughout the day and night, snorking and wheezing; blowing little kitty snot-bubbles in an attempt to clear her nose. Usually, the snot-bubble events happen in the still of the night, as she lies next to me on our queen-sized bed - she, slumbering (or preening) at her pillow and me snoozing blissfully on mine. I am awakened at intervals of what seem to be half-hour to forty-five minutes apart, and then never fully allowed to fall back into anything remotely close to a deep sleep. She doesn't hate me, she just thinks it's amusing to play the part of the mist off Niagara Falls in my face.

A stuffy nose is no different for a cat in its discomfort or inconvenience level than it is for a human, but humans can adjust easily to mouth-breathing if we have to - cats don't like that practice at all. And Hobbes...well, Hobbes likes to share.

And her stuffiness makes eating a bit of a chore, too, so I am met with a lot of uneaten food in her bowl. Good thing her fluffy sister has no issue with poaching leftovers.

At any rate, Bud's illness began in the form of the annoying throat-clearing which only seems to raise my hackles - and my mommy alarms. By the time he was really "a-hem, uagh, a-hem, mgg-uaghing" enough to make me want to smack him with a two-by-four, it was too late to pre-emptively strike with Airborn or some other nip-it-in-the-bud OTC remedy. Nope, he was in for a bit of a sick spell; but it went from a headcold to his chest. Then that mucus-to-throat issue created vomit a-n-d now an ear infection to boot! Along the way, he also seemed to be bothered by chills and muscle aches just as the headcold appeared to abate, so I am flumuxed by this round of sick.

However, Karl began throat-clearing, drippy nose, and sore throat complaints two or three days ago, then developed the dreaded "D" yesterday, just to make it interesting. Last night he then began to complain of aches in his joints, a headache and chills...so off to bed he went!

The remaining two cats and I are keeping some distance where we can, and are avoiding touching tissues irresponsibly left around the domicile. Other than that, everyone is well.

Oh, except I seem to have a repeat of a nasty eye infection of my left eyelid - again! Second time inside of a month, and it seems to happen after teaching at the JAF. Gotta be kid cooties, eh? Hoping the swelling is gone by tomorrow, since it looks as though I lost a round to a boxer, and you can't put make-up on that.

Hope everyone is fairing better wherever you are.

End of the month

I suppose, since we've come to the end of another month, it would be appropriate to mark its demise with a word or two (or two-hundred).

Last evening, the boys and I went to a DSO concert to hear the premiere of a new work by Danny Elfman. Well, it isn't really "new work" so much as a compilation of music from films he's scored for Tim Burton movies. Elfman and Burton put together a snapshot of images and film to go with the musical scores from fourteen Burton movies - and it was wonderful! There was even an 11-year-old male soloist and the Wayne State Choir to back the orchestra, which just added SO much to the program.

As I said, it premiered in Detroit last night, accompanied by people dressed as their favorite Tim Burton character. I would strongly suggest catching this program if it comes to an orchestra hall in your town. You won't be sorry you did.

Hello, again

Not going to wait until the end of the week to post an update. Nope, instead I am going to 'steal' a moment here and fill in a blank or two, then get back to my regular programming.

Heh heh...television humor.

The big news of the week is of course - Brian's 27th birthday! 27! :vO His birthday gift to me was a haircut (his, not mine), and my gift to him was a beautiful pair of woolen socks to wear with his kilt. Hey, those bad boys are hard to come by, and are expensive. Karl bought him a large bottle of clove-infused mead after having tried it at the Renfest. Happy birthday, Brian!

School is progressing about as you'd expect. Comp I for me is going well; for Karl, it's a bit more challenging - but he seems to have a good instructor. Mr. Quincy is (so far) diligent in responding to email, and genuinely seems to care that I want Karl to succeed, and is willing to help through open communication and getting copies of notes from class to K. [insert excited, happy face here]

On the other hand, Web Design is really kicking my keester. It doesn't help that my retrograde PC (and it's outdated IE program - which I can't upgrade past IE9 in order to do the work at home) is conspiring against me. Today I will head into the lab for a couple of hours to avail myself of the tutor and the working program there. [this calls for a cheer and an "oh, crap"]

Maria is enrolled in four classes this semester - GOOD ON YA, M! I would be too, but I waited too late. Although, it's probably a good thing I get my feet wet and ease back into this sort of school work. It's not like Specs was....not by a long shot. This is REAL work, eh? I am proud of you, Maria, keep up the good work!!

Jean is now in her second year of that radiology program (YEA!), and seems to be taking more of it in stride - I think. She is a wonder, because it's a lot of work and practicum on top of it! Plus, she's working one to two days (l o n g days) per week in a radiology facility on top of it! I know it's stretching you thin, lady, but you are a champ!

Mom is mending well, the issues with swelling and pain are subsiding. It's a good thing! Thank you, Lord. And, she still has PBS on her rabbit-eared TV, so is happier than not. It's not the same as seeing some regular network programming and her favorite "Wheel" and "Jeopardy" shows, but PBS is great when that's all there is. And that's WAY better than the alternative "reality TV" BS now offered 70% of the time on the other four channels (which she can't see).

As for me, well...I am the slacker in the group, I suppose. I am teaching somewhere in the neighborhood of two classes a week (the ones that don't cancel due to low enrollment), and taking my own piddily two classes. Pfft. Yes, still sewing when I get a moment here and there, just not enough of those moments any more.

OK, so enough of this for a bit. I need to get cleaned up and ready to meet with the tutor. I'm gonna learn me some web designin'. Hooo-doggies!

Mom, call me if you need me -

Well...hello!

Attempted to post yesterday, to update you all as to what's been transpiring in my life over the last week (or more), but blogger is again on the fritz. [primal growl] I am going to try and make this brief to avoid any further blogger BS for the day, so I hope you can read between the lines in this abbreviated report.

Arrived home from the U.P. two days ago in time to pick up Karl from his last day of summer semester. He had just taken his final and was ready to leave the building. He was expecting to see Jean there, as she had offered to drive the distance from Clio to Aub Hills to gather him if I couldn't make there myself. THANK YOU, JEAN!

Mom is mending after her [deleted for privacy's sake], that's where I was for the week. Besides that, the timing was right to be there for her birthday, too. Happy birthday, one more time, mom!

The week was a rainy one so I wasn't able to get out and weed whack her driveway (or around her flowerbeds), but it was neat to watch the clouds billowing over Lake Superior.

Brian is looking forward to the start of the Renaissance festival this month, and will be dividing his time between Lowe's during the week, the comic book shop in Fenton, and the festival on the weekends through September.

Thirteen days to go before the start of the quilt show/competition, and sixteen for me before I can attend it and then take my quilt entry home! Can't wait to see it hanging with other entries from around the world and from across the United States!

OK, so let's see if blogger will allow me to post this today, without issue.

Have a good day!

My bad

It dawned on me last night that I had forgotten to report Karl's progress in his advanced math class.

Yes - he passed his first test!  Initially, he had a C+ grade, but seemed dissatisfied with that grade.  He was looking forward to averaging the same sort of grades as he had in the first math class, but since this is advanced (and therefore more complicated) algebra, it makes sense that it might not come as easily, or with the same results for the lad.

At any rate, I suggested he take his test and the math notes - and work leading up to it - in to his next tutoring session to see where his issue may lie, to see if Justin (his tutor) can help Karl over his hurdles, thereby making it easier to pass the next test.  You know, get Karl (and keep him) par with what was coming at him in class. 

My thought is if you have working knowledge of the sequence of formulation, factoring and figuring for algebra, then you should be able to move through the more complicated problems.  But, if you have a hiccup early on, then getting the more complicated stuff will be, well....more complicated.

So, Karl went in to tutoring armed to the teeth to review his test and see where he needed a little help grasping whatever it was that had eluded him.

The two boys found two problems which had been answered correctly, but which the instructor had incorrectly marked wrong!  Karl finished his tutoring session having mastered a concept (with Justin's help) that stumped him, AND with the knowledge that he could perhaps raise his grade for the test a little by asking the instructor to review those two problems the boys found to be graded wrong.

Guess what?!  She did see the issues with the two problems in question, and re-graded Karl's test accordingly, which bumped his grade from that C+ to a B- !!!  This made Karl very proud - and rightly so!

Need I say I am proud, too?  Well, I am!
- - - - - - - - - - - -
On to Brian news.  Arrived home the other day to find Bud with an impressive bandage on his left forearm.

"A bandage!", you gasp.

Yes, and here's the story.  He cut his forearm on a poorly stored blade he found "the hard way," while searching for something he had dropped on the floor under his desk.  Yes, he placed the blade (some time ago) into the flap of a cardboard box, then stacked the box with something else, then, well.....you get the picture, right?  He forgot completely about the blade, then made contact with it while prowling around under his desk.

The "contact" made was with his forearm, and the results were a fairly deep sub-q cut (but not to the muscle) which required something in the order of 10 stitches to close.

Wheeee!!  Oh, and yes, I did do the mommy-thing and suggest (strongly) to Brian I thought this might be a good time to clean his room.

So, it's been slightly eventful here.  How's things at your end of the swamp?

For those of you "in the know"

And there aren't many of you regarding this topic, but -

Bud was having an issue getting from his home improvement employer his first full paycheck.  I know!!

The run-around he received from the HR/Payroll person on site was ridiculous, to say the least.  The crux of the matter left him with this decision (per that Payroll/HR bimbo): Brian could pay a $25 stop pay fee to have them re-issue his paycheck.

Yup, you read that right.  HE would have to pick up the tab for their stupidity and carelessness.  So, after two days of sporadic discussion here and there, he went in this morning to speak with the store manager before his shift began, and to question this awfully strange pay protocol for employees.

Why would the employee have to pay for a check they never touched, never saw, never had a chance to misplace? 

I know, I hear you - "What!??  What's the other option?  Where's the decision making?" 

The "or" in all of this was to wait and see if and when the check ever materialized at some time in the future.

Well, the long and the short of it is that Lowe's will eat the fee to stop pay, and will immediately issue a paycheck, which I trust will now be direct deposit instead.  My only concern is that Bud check the online system available to see his hours and to be certain the payroll amount shows up with the correct tax amounts withheld and no other surprise gaps equalling $25. 

This mistrust has a firm foundation.

Anyhow, yea, Brian!  Way to confront the BS!

Little expeditions

As my friends and I try to re-invent and re-purpose ourselves for employment, we manage to take time to insert a little creative juice and activity into our schedules to keep from going mad.  I am an artist who prefers to turn her energy and talents towards fabric arts (quilting) and photography (and silk screening - although, admittedly not so much s/s as I once did). 

My best friends are also into quilting, which is where I direct most of my non-job-searching time, and every once in a while we allow our little vises to take control of our minds and pocketbooks, and we have fun "shop-hopping" on a private basis.  Well, Maria has had the fun of a true organized shop hop - an organized  and chauffeured tour, put on by multiple quilt shop destinations - but Jean and I haven't gone that route, yet. 

One of these days, though....you just wait!

At any rate, Jean and I squoze in a mini hop Friday - visiting five different quilt stores - and we were terribly impressed with two of the target stores and not so impressed with two others.  The fifth store was a charming mix of antiques, chachki and material, but the setting was disappointingly short of material offerings and decent light to shop by.  Still, FUN to walk through, and a possible go-to spot for a re-visit at some time in the deep future.

If you want to read more about each of our new quilt shop finds, please find the reviews at: www.truenorthquilter.blogspot.com.  I'll be writing them out this afternoon (or tonight).  Otherwise......

Work progresses on the large 16+K piece art quilt;
Karl's persevering in his new advanced math class;
Brian continues to work his two part time jobs while looking for something full time and stable, and;
the cats are still fuzzy and demanding as ever.

How's it by you?

April showers bring...

...well, May, anyway.

May follows April, regardless of whether it rains or not.  And May has its own showers, so it's not really dependent upon April's rainfall at all for flower production. 

I'm just sayin'.

This weather warm-up also has the wasps and flying, sting-y things out and about, and that alone is torture for Karl.  The allergies are a nasty extra bit of discomfort for him.  Lousy luck.

Oh, and before I forget, the boy did land the job at a somewhat-local home improvement store - so now he has two part time jobs.  Oddly enough this turn of events makes him happier than the thought of a full-time position with the large chain store.  ?!?

I know, right?

Well, if nothing else, I hope this incentivizes him in some way to do a better job of buckling down and looking for work in a much more determined and meaningful way.  Although-----I know----it won't.

Karl passed his math class with a 95%!  He was telling me he had no need to take the final because of the rest of his work throughout the semester.  If he failed (or receives a low grade on) the final, that'd be the lowest score his instructor would 'throw out' before calculating his final grade. 

It's the little battles won that make it all worthwhile.

Now comes the waiting game

He's had the interview and now must wait for the call back.

Ah, well.  Happy thoughts and muttered prayers.

Out the door

He's been gone about 15 minutes or so, and I am trying not to wring my hands.

Bud is off to another interview - I wish he had a canoe to get there with all of this rain!

Be careful.  Be confident.  Believe!

Oh, dear Lord

HOW do you make children - who, by the way, AREN'T r e a l l y 'children' any more so much as they are grown men (sort of) in their mid-twenties - listen to you say something intelligent and meaningful, and not hear it as a criticism?

For instance:
The boy's car has an ongoing problem with the catalytic-converter-to-muffler/exhaust system, wherein about once a year (every 18 months if he's lucky) the damn thing begins to get noisy, then the crack which inevitably develops at the point of contact between the large exhaust piece and the just gives way, and the symphonic sounds of three tricked-out Harleys emanates from under his vehicle.

Did I ask him to have it looked at when I first detected the decibel level rising a few days ago?  YES

Did he use any of his free time to call the mechanic to get it going sooner rather than later?  NO

Has it completely broken?  Yes, YES IT HAS!

Is he grousing and acting as though the world has it in for him?  Oh, yes...yes he is.

And I'm the bad guy for simply broaching the subject of using today for looking into it.

Whoooo boy!

After having just spent more than 4.5 hours helping Bud re-write his resume, I need a drink!

I don't think tea is going to cut it.

Bartender!

Good news, bad news

It has been a l-o-n-g weekend. 
It began last week, Wednesday, when Brian developed a monster headache.  Just coming off of a nearly two-week-long combo respiratory/head thing (he still harbors the cough and stuffy nose), this headache crept in to stay.

Severe vomiting followed at a rate of two-to-three hours between each episode.  The headache intensified over the next couple of days, and his biggest concern (for him) was lack of poo.

[amused exasperation] Kids.

OK, kids and 101-year-old ladies.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon, his appetite began to rear it's ugly head, so Bud ate a little here and a little there throughout the remainder of the day.  Eventually, his relaxed upset stomach said "no thanks" in a very profound and noisy fashion.

That was 4:30AM Sunday.

Then the headache became aggressively painful, so we drove to an urgent care facility in town (which wasn't McClaren - they are the gov snydley of healthcare).  For $90 this clinic gave him a shot of pain medication and two prescriptions to fill....oh, and a prescription for a CT.

Brian managed to sleep throughout a better portion of the night, waking less frequently then he had been, and no vomiting (thank you, God).  He still required elevation to sleep, but his grade 8 headache is now a purring 3 classification (per his opinion), but it is now painful to have contact with the right side of his head.  ?

Re: the CT - Once it's done, how long before someone reads the CT results and gets back with an answer, solution, opinion, diagnosis do you think?

[disgusted sigh] What a ride.

More later.

I love my sons

The best thing about coming home last evening, after having instructed a slow class of two kids, was finding that my sons had taken it upon themselves to wash the sinkful of dishes!

Yes!  Most of the dishes had been washed and were stacked in boy-ordered chaos in the strainer. It was WONDERFUL!  Sure, there's a bit to go before it's all done, but the fact that they thought to do it at all was a gift worth cherishing!

Thank you, boys.  You made me smile.

Still cranky

Yes, I am still cranky over the (substitute) mail carrier 'creasing' my mailbox, and I know I will be EVERY time I have to use that very bent handle to attempt opening the flap to retrieve my mail.

My eldest cat has gone painfully hard of hearing (which has become very evident over the past two months), and I feel awful for her; seeing us move our mouths and looking her way, and wondering what has gone wrong.  I can't imagine the grief this must cause her little brain.  What cruel trick are we humans pulling on her that she has no noise to accompany the sights she is used to?  Poor old dear.

Brian has been sick, but seems to have thankfully avoided the flu-ish portions of it all.  He is still very stuffed up and somewhat congested, but also seems to be on the mend.  Hooray!

Karl passed his second Algebra test with a 90%!  He says he is feeling more confident in class, and is able to spot when he gets to a section of the homework where the instructor hasn't yet gotten to in class. [happiness]

The thrill of K's success in class is somewhat offset by the little demon she-beast who stalked him last year; who once was a friend but became quite twisted and bossy, displacing her frustration with me (long story) onto him, and emotionally hampering Karl on a daily basis.  He finally got wise and cut her off, cut her loose, tuned her out and moved along.  It was a hard (but good) lesson for him, and he sailed through it with a modestly small amount of discomfort overall. 

However, she now seems to have found him on campus and narrowed in on his routines, haunting his route and yelling out taunts as he walks by.  Odd that she wasn't in these locations for the five+ weeks of class which have passed from the beginning of the semester to now, so I have to wonder what may be next.  Stay tuned.

Yesterday was sunny and enjoyable, but today is back to cold, grey, and snowy.  Tomorrow is to be a mix of snow AND rain along with the low temps (WHY??), and I feel moved to admit I am quite tired of it all.

Busily working on a number of projects; my intentions are to have one - if not two - items to enter into the next AQS event for 2013.  Also have another Sewing 101 class added to my calendar for the very beginning of March, but if I have not received payment for the remaining 9 classes I have lead since mid-January up to now, I will be turning down anything further.  Perhaps this will light a fire under their payroll department (and anyone else who needs to keep up-to-date in making my payments appear in a more timely fashion).

One can dream.

More another time, at present I am feeling muddled and need to step away from the keyboard. Ciao!

They did it!

The boys muscled the heavy, oak, trestle table out the front door, down the hill around the house, and into the back door of the lower level.  And just like that [finger snap], my sewing area has a fabulous work surface!

I have been sitting in the living room for the past several years, using the table there, and taking up space in the process.

Finally, the urge to make that view disappear became too much for me, and I did something about it.

There's a small percentage of items yet to move before the entire undertaking can be considered complete, but for the most part there is an incredibly vast (and marked) difference upstairs and down!  All for the better, too.

Thank you, my babies, for your wonderful help.

Activities

I spent a portion of the morning (into the early afternoon) working on the lower level.  Cleaning, pitching, moving, cleaning, vacuuming, reconfiguring.  There was a good deal of wondering, wishing, and tweaking going on, too, but none of that needs going in to at present.

I took advantage of Brian's presence to move the bulky/heavy walnut architect's desk.  He and Karl handily separated the two pieces and moved them about until I was satisfied, then set the pieces back together again.  In the heartbeat that followed me saying "thanks, that's great!" they were gone!  Just like real men, they left me on my own to keep working away on the bits and pieces.

To be fair, Bud did have something he was looking forward to doing, and that meant he needed to pack and get ready to walk out the door; but he promised two days ago that he would help out all morning before he had to leave.  I was only helping him stick to his promise.  ;)

There'll be a time in the near future where I will call on them once more to help move the 6'x6' Ikea storage wall, but I'm good for now.  The havoc this morning's maneuvering alone will cause the cats is enough to contend with (for the time being).  The sheer thrill of just getting it accomplished (even in snitches and snatches) is enough for me!

Baby steps.

For now, I'm taking the rest of the day to ready myself 100% for tomorrow's sewing class.  No last minute regrets or panic searches.  Just want to be able to walk out the door content and relaxed.

I'll let you know how it goes!