Progress, In Increments...

Someone once said "Progress comes in increments." 

Or if someone DIDN'T say that, someone should have. For most of us, progress usually doesn't come in giant leaps and bounds. It comes along on little cat feet, sometimes sneaking up on us when we least expect it. 

At least it's seemed so for me, lately. 

Knitting...

There's a tiny bit of progress on the Kid #2 Afghan. I'm on the red band now. I'm not sure but I think I might consider a skein of black Caron Simply Soft. Just to break it up. I'm feeling like the grey heather and the garnet are too much of a contrast, and that somehow the black, in a couple of stripes, might work nicely. 

What I'm doing is breaking up the stripes by changing color at the two garter ridges there - you can see them right under the red. But then I thought, "what about a black stripe half-way through the normal ripple pattern? It would have to be the black in the middle of the red, though, because I'm not ripping this back! 

I'll mull on it. I have only half of this first red repeat done, and there are 2 in the rotation - at least that's what I'm planning. This could be one very long afghan if I miscalculated. Which wouldn't be bad, since Kid #2 is kind of a tall one. 

My Year in Socks...

Here's my "sock drawer." Ok, so it's a tote. And a small one. But it's a start. Nope, I haven't added much to it, except for the Neon Beach. I still have The Dreaded Teal to finish and the Roman Rib. 

The February yarn will be Pinstripe. It's got about 1" of rib on it already. 

And yeah, I know - that's 3 pairs of socks in progress. But when my friend Roberta had a Sock Failure of Massive Proportions, I felt like I had to have something to work on while I got her straightened out. As it is, she STILL dropped a needle-full of stitches, but she said she got them back. I can see another knit-date in our near future. 

Otherwise, I'm hoping that somewhere in the bags of yarn that are left to be knit, there might be some Sweet Georgia. I want to knit with something yummy. I love my Opals and I'm wearing the pair at the top of the shot there. 

But I'd like something squishy. 

Health Stuff...

Well, the "kick sugar to the curb" thing isn't going very well. But I do have a slight bit of progress made in another area. I'm working with my doc to wean me off the migraine meds. Since I'm at the grand old age of 57 and STILL not in menopause (go ahead - laugh), we're keeping me on a half-dose for 6 weeks. Then we'll go to a quarter-dose. So instead of 1000 mg 2x/day, I'm now at 500 mg 2x/day for a bit. Then eventually, if there are no problems, I'll go to 500 mg 1x/day till I'm finally in menopause. 

The medicine's price jumped. When I had to refill, the poor pharmacist called and almost fearfully asked if I wanted it filled. Last year, it was about $1,700 for a 3-month supply. 

This year? It's $2,180.10. Yeah, stick the last dime on the end of it, right? There is a generic, and we tried it. I'm one of the weird folks who really do need to be on the real formulation. 

So far, I'm not sure...I feel a little off, but that could be anything. I'll watch and see what happens. 

It's nice to be this age and coming OFF medications, instead of adding them on. 

Oh, and I pitched the doc to use my voice for her patient information videos. She is taking it up with the practice manager. Hey - marketing where you can, when you can. 

And it looks like my run-in with Quinn didn't do me any favors. It was my fault. Quinn yanked me as she tried to grab the neighbor's cat. (Seriously, it's BELOW freezing, stupid neighbors - take your cat INSIDE!) I yanked back on the leash, she came barreling back at me and I didn't move fast enough. She caught me on the right knee, bending it in a direction that knees aren't supposed to go. Ouch. 

So - back from the doctor, reluctantly, because I really dislike going if I don't have to. POSSIBLY a small tear on the interior ligament, but no brace. So Aleve for a week and let him know. Urgh. 

Random Picture...

This was the dessert at the 2015 fundraiser for the Joliet Area Zonta Club. Yummy. I would rather have had 2 of the chocolate ones; the white was a little too cloying. 

We raised lots of money for scholarships and had a nice luncheon. And all I had to do was show up, which is a benefit. 

Next up is the Will-Grundy Medical Clinic's Annual Dinner. I have to speak at that one. Since it's right around the corner, I'd best get my skates on and whip up a speech. 

Things To Do, Things To Do...

So the 2014 District 6 Fall Conference is actually upon us. Three of us from our local Zonta Club are leaving tomorrow morning and heading to Indiana for a weekend of all things Zonta. 

Things to do....

Last minute notes to self

I have the list of items to pack. Go ahead and laugh, but I bet that I'm the one who does NOT forget things to pack. Oh, and I just noticed the "casual elegant" notice for the Saturday banquet. Crud... Dressy clothes; I forgot about that. So I'm adding that to the list. It'll be the outfit I wore for The Nephew's wedding, I think. It's easier than a dress. 

I have two different routes - I despise Rt. 80 with a passion I only hold more strongly for absolute idiots. And I happen to think that the majority of motorists who drive Rt. 80 are, for the most part, idiots. There are too many accidents; too many trucks; too many people trying to jockey for the same small patch of asphalt. 

So we're taking the scenic route. My riders already know this, and they're ok with it. 

I have my schedule, credentials, and reservations. 

Credentials & Schedule

I have to do laundry. 

Pack knitting.

Gas up the truck. 

And that morning? I have a 7:30 a.m. board meeting. So I have to then pick up Rider #1 and meet Rider #2 at my house and we'll take off from my house. It's around 4 hours to get to where we're going and I'm adding more time to take into account both traffic and the inevitable construction, since both IL and IN are undoubtedly packing in the construction projects before the end of the Federal fiscal year and before the weather turns to total crap. 

So we'll be coming back on Sunday afternoon, so we'll be looking for a route where we can avoid the Sunday Crazies, too. Fun. 

Health Stuff...

Well. It seems that two of my docs don't necessarily agree with the hematologist. The PCP says my iron levels were normal in 2000 and then started tanking. The cardiologist, who HAS the anemia the hematologist is claiming I have, says "no" as well because he said I'd have had different symptoms which a "decent pediatrician" would have picked up on. So both are going to call the hematologist and discuss. 

Also, the cardiologist asked me to stay on the meds for another 3 months. That's kind of a downer. I was really expecting to get off them. He just said he'd rather I stay on them for now. 

Maximus

The highlight of this visit was Maximus. I think he might be Raisa's daddy - or at least a really close cousin. 

I first met Maximus about 3 cardio visits ago. His owner was rather surprised that Maxie (at least that's what I call him) kind of glommed onto me. I told him that undoubtedly, Maxie knows a Husky-fiend and he also knows I have 3 lovely lady dogs at home. 

Raisa

Maxie is a love-bug wrapped in a ton of fur. He also howled for me on this particular visit. I finally had the presence of mind to ask for a picture and was granted permission. I showed his owner the latest pose of Raisa (at least the latest "pretty" pose - we have a ton of goof-ball poses!) and he agreed: they could be related! Of course, at some level, all Huskies are related, but there are a couple of distinct breeder lines. 

For example, Raisa is thinner-boned than River was and she's far less fluffy. Of course, she's also one year old, but her legs are more rangy. 

Topaz was huge - she was outsized in form and in personality, and she was from a fairly nondescript line. River was from the "old line" model, where the dogs were more true to the actual type of a Husky who was -- husky. A working dog. Not a "wolf-like-hairy-dog" thingie that you see sometimes in overbred lines. Raisa is from a back-yard breeder, and while we've had some health challenges with her already, she's going to mature nicely, I think. 

Anyhow, don't they look pretty closely alike? They both howl like crazy, too. It's just funny. I did tell Maximus' owner that he and Maxie made my day. He hugged me. It was nice. 

On The Way Home...

I stopped to take some pictures. There were several of the 'fall' variety, and one for our club's Facebook page that I need to upload. And then there were these...


It's not creepy. Old cemeteries can be very peaceful places. This is where my paternal grandma and grandpa are buried. I just have to find them. 

This cemetery is old. Not as old as the oldest one in the whole town. But a close second. One can only imagine this trio of stones when the trees weren't this large. 

The older headstones were works of art. I'm awed by the artistry, and had I the time, I'd have spent more of it taking pictures here. I really want to go to the very oldest one. Hubby thinks it's slightly odd... 

But it's stuff like this: the beautiful porcelain medallions with pictures. This and the sculptures on top of the larger monuments. All of this took talent and this was a viable trade. You were a true artist when you created some of these things. 

Now, they're all kind of generic. I get the whole "green" thing - or whatever they call it. Where all the stones are flush to the ground so that the groundskeepers can just mow over things quickly. But the stately stones, keeping watch throughout the years, generation upon generation. Consider that. 

Consider these two people and how long this medallion has lasted on this stone. Granted, there are a number of stones where the medallions are missing or broken. But a remarkable number of them are in really decent shape, given the ages on the stones themselves. 

As you can see by this stone, the guardian angel is in pretty good shape, but the medallion is either missing or was meant to be put there, but somehow never got there. 

You can create a whole story about who's who, why they chose these particular monuments, etc. and I think it brings history to life in an entirely different way. You see families buried for generations. 

You see a sole headstone. Sometimes off to one side. Sometimes in line with a larger group of families side by side. You wonder who these people were? Which community did they live in? (Well for this cemetery, you know the church they attended) What did they do in their daily lives? For those sadly short lifetimes on some monuments, you wonder: Spanish Influenza? Mumps? Measles? All of those things took turns in many communities generations ago to wipe out a certain segment of the population. 

And there are always the military stones. For the longest time, we didn't have a military cemetery in the county. Now we do, from around the late 1990s. My mom chose to keep my dad where he was; he could have been re-buried. My friend's parents were re-buried in the veteran's cemetery. 

Anyway, those were my pictures. It was a nice way to just be outside and breathe for a bit. 

Knitting...

Baby knitting continues. The way I figure it, every 15 rows is about 2.5" so I have about 2 weeks worth of straight knitting, if I can get in at least 15 rows a day. Each pattern repeat is 12 rows. I got in 2 rows last night. 

Cotton is a stinker. There. I said it. 

I'll be extremely, EXTREMELY lucky to get this thing done on deadline. 

And I want to cast on a pair of Plain Jane socks. It's not a pattern name. I guess I should say "plain vanilla" socks. Just to have as a grab-and-go project. 

At the doctor's office, I resorted to reading. It was a good Barbara Kingsolver, but I should have plugged away on this blanket instead. 

It's just that this isn't a good portable project. Even with the square needles, the yarn is too slippery and if I drop a stitch, I will not be happy. 

Like I said, I can get the clothing items off to the New Mommy, and the blanket can come later. I can decide after I see how much progress I make. I'm taking it to the Conference. I'm sure I'll get a stink-eye about knitting during the events, but it works for me. 

And it's baby knitting. I've got a deadline here, people!! 

Unpleasantness...

So I had to have an interview with someone who's had some organizational issues. This person's side of the story is one thing. I'm talking to the other person involved today. 

There are always different styles when leadership in an organization changes. But the organization where I've been volunteering for a number of years (not where I work, by the way) has had nearly 90% changeover of staff. That's a leadership problem. 

My problem is that I counseled one of the people involved, and there was agreement. There was nodding. There was a lot of "yes, I see that." 

But we've had this conversation before. And here I am, back again. 

We shall see how this conversation today turns out. That's what the meeting on Friday is about. It could get interesting. 

And not in a pleasant way. 

I'm totally cool with having the hard conversations. But I'm not cool with spending the time, especially in a volunteer capacity, only to have to repeat them. Then the drill sergeant in me comes out. And people don't like that. 

Random Picture...

Ahhhhh - Choooooo! Yep, it's goldenrod. One of the "fall" pics I took yesterday along a park district trail. The light was lovely yesterday, the clouds were puffy, and the field behind there? It's a hay field, and the piles were all neatly wound into balls - kind of reminded me of cakes of yarn. 

This is my favorite time of year. Aside from winter and spring. Even with the itchy allergy eyes I have today, which make me want to unplug my eyes and stick 'em in the freezer.

This is nature's last blast before the cold sets in. This year, she's putting on quite the show. I love looking out my window to see what's in store every day. I love the crispness in the air. 

I could do without the pollen. But it's a small sacrifice.

I'm Back!! And Happy to Be Here!

Wow, can't even remember when I last checked in. It was before the Zonta International Convention, that's for sure. I've been busy as heck. I was a delegate at the convention and had spent 5 days in Orlando, Florida.

Now. Lest you think I was sunning my days away, let me assure you: it was work. We had before us a proposal to massively, and I mean MASSIVELY revamp our by-laws. That got interesting, to say the least. Check out our club's Facebook page to see how it all shook out. And follow us! We want 100 followers at least. 

Zonta is an international organization dedicated to advancing the status of women. We work with the UN (we're a NGO - non-governmental organization), in particular with projects which help women in under-developed countries. Locally the club I belong to gives away a lot of money in terms of scholarships. They're not only academically based; the young women have to be involved in their community as well.

Anyway, one of our sessions went from 7:30 a.m. till about 7:30 p.m. This is what I did to help me stay focused.

Yep, the Fluro sock. And the bag is from Chicken Soup Designs. Check her work out because it's fantastic. I got a lot of compliments on the bag. 

And the sock!

Anyway, not much time to knit during the conference because we were so busy working. I did manage some pretty cool pictures, and I did manage to get some sunrises and sunsets. But all in all, we are tired and happy to be home.

The picture here is a sunset over a pavilion at the hotel. It was with the camera phone. And it was a lovely night. 

Orlando Sunset

We ended up trying to take walks at night just because we sat so much during the day. I'm sorry - having us get up and move every hour or so wasn't cutting it!


And the food. We ate at restaurants; the one draw-back is that no meals are provided, but in other ways, that's probably good. 

My issue was that they were always feeding us, and you do get into a "herd mentality" where if it's in front of you, you will invariably eat it. 

So it's back to Atkins or something for me, because it's wayyyyyyyy too easy to get out of control. Quickly.

Native costumes

So the convention was host to almost 1,200 women from all over the world. The first day, we have a "dress parade" where you can wear a native costume if you have one. This picture is a candid of some lovely women in various native outfits. It's a stirring ceremony and it makes you realize what you are doing when you're involved with a group that celebrates the advances women have made. 

For example, one big project we voted on was to continue to fund the Campaign to Eliminate Obstetric Fistula in Libya. Here's the deal. You've probably never heard of Obstetric Fistula. Well, that's because it's virtually unheard of here. 

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was originally the last hospital to do obstetric fistula repair. Just in case you think I'm kidding, go here.

Obstetric fistula is what happens to little girls, and I do mean little girls, who are sold to husbands. Sold at the age of ohhhh - 12 or so. And they get pregnant. And for the most part, they're undernourished as it is, and physically perhaps able to get pregnant, but also, physically stressed by the pregnancy.

And then top that off with no prenatal care, and a hospital that is maybe 8 hours away (if they're lucky) or several days away. And in labor, these girls walk to the hospital, since there's no ambulance. Well, you can imagine what that does to their bodies. If they survive, they have issues with eliminating waste. It just happens. They're shunned by their families, their husbands usually toss them out and they're societal outcasts.

We have been funding this project for many years - and this year, we voted almost unanimously to fund this for a little over $600,000. 

For this, we can be proud.

SCOTUS...

For THAT? Not so much... The "Store That Shall Not Be Named" has won a victory, thanks to a bunch of judges who have no ovaries. So let's put this in perspective.

Corporations are people, apparently.

Corporations have the right to speak. 

Corporations have religious beliefs.

Sooooooooooooooo - howz-about they pay taxes???? Like, well, you know --- PEOPLE.

The STSNBN does cover birth control. Just not the ones they think "cause abortions." Science. Seriously. Most freshmen in high school know that birth control pills PREVENT the egg from implanting. Oh, and they cover Viagra. Of course. 

Because apparently, women get pregnant in a vacuum. 

So The STSNBN gets to pick how their employees spend the money they pay them. I mean, let's think about this. Most times, you get a paycheck + benefits. The benefits are PART OF YOUR SALARY. So you get those in exchange for work. The employer gives them to you. So you get to decide what to do with those benefits. 

Except, not. 

And SCOTUS has said that this is a "very narrow" ruling. But already the nut-whacks are lining up. Now, they'll petition to be able to discriminate in hiring, because, you know, we can't hire "the gay" or "the brown" or whatever else they choose to discriminate on in regard to hiring. 

Because, you know, corporations have religious beliefs. And those religious beliefs must be imposed upon the rest of us. 

Because apparently, CORPORATE religious freedom is more important than the freedom from religion we have in this country. So INDIVIDUAL beliefs are not as important as CORPORATE religious beliefs. Says SCOTUS.

I'm disgusted. I haven't shopped at The STSNBN, and I won't. They've purchased their belief at the expense of a lot of customers. 

We're sliding fast down that slippery slope predicted by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. And it's quite unlikely that we'll be able to climb back to the nation that we were. 

You know - the one "of the people, for the people, and by the people." 

Where did that go?

Knitting...

So nothing else on the needles yet. I'm at the heel of the first Fluro sock, and it will be interesting because I cast on 72 stitches. We'll see how this fits. It'll be a slightly longer heel, so we can see how that works with my foot. 

I have a nice stash of sock yarn, so after the Fluro socks, I think I'll go after finishing the baby sweater; and then just rotate the socks in between projects. I should have a healthy stash of socks soon. 

Kid #2 is moving out soon. He'll get his afghan for Christmas, I suppose. I don't want that on my lap during the summer. 

Health...

The atrial ablation is scheduled for July 24. My pre-op tests are the week of the 14th. And we have a problem. I'm allergic to the IVP dye. As in "I stop breathing." And they need a CAT scan of my heart. Here's the scoop on this kind of allergy. Thing is, they can't test for it. 

They found it when I had a CT scan as a kid and stopped breathing. Not cool. So it's emblazoned across my MedicAlert bracelet and every medical record I talk about. But we're not sure how we're going to handle this. Seriously, I refuse to take this stuff. I can't tell you how it petrifies me to think that the reaction will happen. 

So I'm calling the doc on Monday to discuss this.

And... I had a bad week at the convention. I've gained a lot of weight, so this coming week, we're back on a strict program. I need to get this off, and keep it off. I did it before and I can do it again. And since I've been back on the bike, it should be easier this time. Anyway, we have an ally in the fight to be fit. 

So. To fix that, we have:

The Garden...

Topping 7 feet

Here it is. In all its glory. I just gave 2 bags of lettuce to my friends. I've eaten as much as I can, and we'll just keep eating it. We have a tiny cucumber, and a half-dozen tomatoes. 

We've re-done the radishes so we have another batch. Yum!!!

Tomatoes!

Here's a picture from this morning, with Hubby standing by for scale. 

The herbs are also going quite nicely. I have to weed the chives. 

So Friday, between knitting the sock, hitting the bike trail and weeding... I'll be keeping dogs calm and trying to have a decently calm 4th of July.

I might be able to get in a batch of basil jelly. Heaven knows we have a ton. Maybe a straight-up "herb" jelly because I have several that are ready to go. 

It depends on how humid it gets. I don't want to warm up the house like crazy, but I do need to use up the greens. We've developed a system of plucking them, and then Hubby constructs "bags" with our vacuum sealer - dividing a bag into quarters so that we can just cut one off and use it as we need to.

The flowers are fading a bit, but we knew that would happen. No more hummingbirds to speak of, and that's kind of disappointing. We got a new pump for the one bird bath, and put the other 2 in the bird bath that's more in the sun. We'll see if we need to move them around a bit. 

Happy 4th of July!

Random Picture...

And speaking of the 4th of July. Here's Tippi. Luckily, we got this before dusk, because the morons are shooting off their rockets.

I wish they'd consider others. Like, what if there was a vet on our block with PTSD?? The count is thus: Raisa is oblivious. Tippi is upside down and sort of passed out by my chair as I type this. When the boom-booms go off, she surfaces enough to growl like she wants to rip someone's liver out. 

If it wouldn't ruin her career as a therapy dog? I might just help her do that!

Quinn is huddled under Hubby's desk. It's gonna be a long night. 

Let's See If This Works...

For what it's worth, the Nephew Afghan is done. Finished. Period. And I've got about 20% on the Teal Sock. 

It's DONE!!!

And I can't remember how to update that picture on the right!!! Anyway, it's sitting on the clipboard and I'll try to figure it out. It can't be all that hard. I did it once, right??

Here's the picture of the afghan, and an up-close of the edging. It's almost 5' long. I think it's fine. And I actually like the navy "single ply" edging as a "window" effect and then the doubled final edging. The stitch pattern is from the "8-hour afghan" book I have - called "textured" and you can see the raised rows. It's a modified basketweave, to my eyes. The edge is half-double-crochet. I like to mix the two techniques together, particularly in an edge. 

I have to do a care label and then I'm good to go. Even though it's machine washable, I still do a care label for everything I make. I should see if I have any of those "made by" labels. I should get more if I don't have them. 

And the sock: I'd say that's about 20% done. And you know what? I can tell the tension is VASTLY different from Sock #1. Sock #1 was "before death" and this one is "after death." So the first one was finished before my brother died, and this one I picked up just recently. To my eye, the tension is different and it feels different to knit on. 

Crochet Edge

Maybe it's because I'm knitting such radically different projects. Let's face it: the afghan was done on size 10.5 needles, double yarn. The sock is on size 2 DPNs, sock-weight yarn. Of course it'll feel different, but to me, it's also kind of an indicator of my own emotional state. The picture shows the sock slightly stretched. Again, to my eyes, it looks a little off, but I'm not going to frog it. It is what it is and it is a sock. 

Yes, we didn't get along; I'm up-front about that. But the emotional toll is there anyway. 

Health...

So Saturday, I had a "breakthrough" and it wasn't of the "Eureka!" type. It was the first breakthrough of such severity in about 2 years. I'd had minor "flutters" which is normal, but this one was scary. 

We had our Zonta Fundraiser (pics in a minute) this past Sunday and I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it there. Just for good measure, Saturday night, I charged the Kindle, fully expecting that Sunday would see me in the hospital.

Teal Ribbed Sock #2

I went downstairs to toss some stuff in the wash; mostly, I had a sweater I wanted to wear. I came up the stairs, walking (I don't run unless something's on fire or there's a dog fight) and at the top, I just got WHAM! - hit by extreme breathlessness. I had felt "off" all day, and I came into the front room, sat on my chair and just gasped. I took my pulse and said to him, "I'm in trouble here...my pulse is going nuts."

Hubby was, of course, concerned. After a quick search (we can't find his stethescope...), he grabbed the BP meter and checked. Wowza. My BP was 128/90-ish and my pulse rate was clocked at 127. Normally, it's around 60-ish. Obviously, something wrong. He called Sis, because by that time, I was just trying to breathe and not get all frazzled -- or MORE frazzled. Sis had us call the cardio guy. I have a "magic pill" but she wasn't certain that my BP met the criteria for the magic pill.

And the instructions on the label said, "Take as directed." Yep - like I'm gonna remember the directions when my system is going haywire...

Cardio says "take the pill. If it's not better in the a.m. take another one, and if that doesn't fix it, come to the office." 

Well, long story short, I slept on the couch for a good chunk of the night; the fact that I was able to elevate my head made me feel better for some reason. I knew I was in trouble (among other ways) because I actually wanted to rip my Dr. Who t-shirt off. I normally like mock-turtle or turtlenecks, and I have no trouble with t-shirts. But since I've had this a-fib, I've really felt uncomfortable with anything touching my neck. And I felt strangled. 

And all regulated itself by about midnite. I ended up going to the event, even though I was rather tired. 

I didn't have to take pics (which was my original assignment). It was actually kind of nice to NOT have a job to do. For the first time in years, I could visit with the guests at my table and mingle when I felt like it. 

Came home after and took a 2-hour nap... Back to work today and I'm fine. Will see how much more of this occurs. It may mean a change in meds. It may mean that I've had too many sleepless nights. 

A First-World Tragedy...

So this Saturday, we had a Great Loss in the family. Our 27-year-old Mitsubishi (tube) television gave up its soul and went to the Happy TV Grounds. Yep. It died. 

Old Faithful

Hubby did some research, and we spent a relatively quiet morning while he poked around to see what was available. 

Whew. We are now the proud (and poorer) owners of a 50" Visio (it's a Samsung private label) LED television. It sits on the stand for the old Mitsubishi and we'll be getting it its proper stand soon. 

Talk about shock.

Of course, the guy at Best Buy just goggled when we told him our TV died. And then revealed its age. 

He said, "Which TV is this replacing?" We said, "Well, our ONLY television." Crickets. I'm sure he didn't know whether to laugh outright or just keep his mouth shut. "Mouth shut" won, which was a very good choice. 

Hubby had to call Comcast and get the scoop on what we needed to upgrade to. For $10 more per month, we now get HD - and honestly, though I despise paying Comcast for seemingly the air I breathe, we do have to utilize the HD feature. Especially on something that huge.

Now, let me say: I never thought I'd have to deal with a TV that big. But having said that, since it's been YEARS since these kinds of TVs came out, they've improved over the beasts they used to be. 

Of course, we're not going to get 27 years out of this one. Five, if we're very lucky. And it does lots of crap that we don't need: 3-D (gives me a headache); games (don't have any); WiFi (that's why I have a laptop)... I just want to watch Downton Abbey, thanks. 

Newbie

He tried to sell us a soundbar, but we didn't want one. I suppose we'll have to have it eventually, because the sound is a bit wonky. The background music comes in loud and clear, but the voices are muted and sound garbled. 

I guess I'd have bought the soundbar if I had won the Zonta split-the-pot, but that's going to have to wait. 

The guy at Best Buy is right. It's a totally different experience. Scary, if you ask me. 

The colors are cool. I can see what we've missed in Old Faithful. And I should've known he was going: I kept having to up his volume. This one, I keep lowering. Kid #2 made a crack about my other favorite show: NCIS. "Oh goodie: GIBBS close-up. And the gore." And he's got a point. Those dead bodies looked better on Old Faithful. Kinda gruesome in BIG TV...

I guess that means we're in the current century now. Except that it's still our "only" TV. And we're ok with that. 

Zonta...

So as I mentioned, it was our annual fundraiser. Our organization is international, so we chose "Celebrating Zonta Around the World" for our theme. We were able to pick a country that hosted at least one Zonta Club and decorate our table. My friend PM (as opposed to the two PSs I know...) helped provide some decoration. We chose Poland. The carved plates and the pierogie ornament are my contributions.

I took my mom and we talked about what else we could've brought, but you also have to think about how much you want to haul. She's got old Polish textbooks; I have a cookbook. We both have rosaries... But family heirlooms? Our guests are friends of ours, so of course, nothing would be lifted, but I just felt we did fine. 

PM contributed the cut-glass vase, the dolls and another carved piece, as well as a Virgin Mary (at the back) and a flag (which wasn't in this picture). 

I have to tell you, lots of people stopped by and commented on my pierogie!! I got one of the servers to bring me a plate and he just laughed. 

In retrospect, I could've done Greece, too. I have a lot of stuff from my ancient trip. There was a nice selection of countries. If you want to see the table decor, click "Zonta" here. 

The club members did some fantastic decorating jobs. 

And the food at the Patrick Haley Mansion was fantastic. If my nephew had any sense, he'd have his wedding HERE and not in the venue he's having it at.

But it's not my gig, so it's not my problem. 

Lifestyle Changes...

Favorite Wraps

So the dietary changes I've been making are good. I'm losing about a pound a week, which is healthy. I'm in my skinnier jeans...not "skinny" jeans, but jeans which didn't fit a few weeks ago. Still a size larger than I want to be, but progress nonetheless. And I don't feel "strangled" - which is a plus.

Here's a shot of my very favorite low-carb wrap. This makes a lovely turkey-and-avocado wrap sandwich and also is a nice holder for tuna salad. I get them at Meijer, which is sad because there's not one really close to us. But this is worth the trip. 

Of course, yesterday at the event, I kind of jumped off the wagon there, but I climbed back on - so all is well. 

Yoga tonight, and perhaps hula hoop after lunch. 

I also got some "restaurant blend" mushrooms. Once I make (again) the cauliflower soup, I'll add the sauteed 'shrooms. Kid #2 is lobbying for Canadian bacon... I think he should just make his own batch of potato soup! 

What this is is rather a "sugar detox" and eating about every 5 hours. It's a little problematic when I'm out and about, but it's manageable. I was always advised against a late-night snack, but the theory here is that it helps your body's sugar level stay the same overnight, so you aren't ravenous when you wake up. 

I'm usually NEVER ravenous when I wake up, but I get the chemistry idea. (May I just say that I love the "save" feature, since I just now hit a button and the whole post disappeared!!)

So for my night snack, I'm using Fage 2% Greek yogurt. This part of the dietary change is boring because it's all really low-carb, low-sugar stuff. Do you know how much sugar you eat???

The statistics say that the average American eats about 130 lbs. of sugar per year. ONE HUNDRED THIRTY POUNDS. That's a person... Here's a site from the Department of Health & Human Services in New Hampshire that states it's closer to 150 lbs. The figure I quoted was one from Prevention magazine. Either way. 

Holy high fructose!

As Americans, most of us don't really have a food problem. Our problem is in what we choose to eat. And how the food industry cons us into buying stuff laced with ingredients that aren't too good for us, and are basically chemicals. 

By changing up my diet, yes, I'm "depriving" myself of lots of the carbs I love, but overall - the fact that I'm getting "un-addicted" to sugar will help me in the long run. All I'm doing, really, is a "clean-up." I'm anxious to get to the part where I can start reintroducing fruit - back to my favorite green smoothies. This type of eating is truly easier in the summer, when you feel like eating stuff that's mostly raw, mostly chilly. A salad looks and tastes very inviting in August. 

In January and February? Not only does half the produce taste like nothing, but it's cold when you're craving Shepherd's Pie...

So I'm going to continue to munch on my flax crackers, celery and salads. And I'm good with that for now. Well, I also need to move more. In that regard, I just pulled out my timer (yeah, I brought one from home) and tried to set it. I figure if I can set it for every 20 minutes or 1/2 hour, I remind myself to move. I often get tied up in something and then I find that I've been sitting for a couple of hours easily. 

Well, the timer appears to have gone to Electronics Heaven with the old TV set. I could use my phone, I suppose. Even with a fresh battery in it, it doesn't want to go. I'll eat lunch (turkey wrap with cottage cheese) and then set the phone. 

Random Picture...

Closer

"Closer." This is the one shot I managed to get while I was laughing. Raisa did a head-first slow-roll next to Tippi, and Tippi didn't know what to make of it. She and Raisa are doing fine; the only issue we've had was when, in a fit of the Zoomies, Raisa jumped Tippi. That didn't go over well. 

When Tippi's had enough, she gets up, goes through the gate and takes a nap. 

With Quinn, we're getting there. In the kennel outside and on the leash, they're doing well. In the house, Quinn's still a bit territorial. And a tad freaky with Tippi still... 

But we knew it would be a process. So far, she's coming along well. I'd forgotten how much energy a puppy took. Glad we're doing this in our 50s and not our 60s. 

Looking outside today is deceptive. It's sunny and everything's melting. We're past the flood warnings, at least in our area, though the nearby river is still a question. But it's 22* outside. 

A Day Late...But Still Fired Up

So I'm a day late for the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day. You can find out about it at this website: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

And if you don't know already, here's a newsflash. There are still areas in this world where women are treated as less-than-livestock. Check out CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women). And please note who hasn't signed onto this document, which is known as "the international bill of rights for women."

I am absolutely ashamed to say that the US has not signed this. Nope. Believe it or not, it's been around for over 30 years, and the US has apparently decided (so far) that it's not necessary that we sign onto this. Really?

How can we go into another country on any kind of human rights mission and hold our head up? How can we say to Afghanistan, for example, "You have to treat your women better" when we haven't seen fit to endorse something as simple as this legislation which calls for women to be treated equally to men.

Notice, I said "equally" --- pay parity, access to education, health care and the other "benefits" of living that men take for granted.

My state senator, Dick Durbin, is trying hard to get this treaty passed. See this clip:

http://durbin.senate.gov/watchClip.cfm?clipId=ce5355fd-0245-4a1f-84a6-edde5f28c05b

See the lovely company the US is in?? Really - we're right in there with Sudan and Iraq in our reluctance to sign this treaty. And as Durbin said, this is hardly a new issue, since CEDAW has been around for at least 30 years.

Anyway, back to International Women's Day. We celebrated at my Zonta club last night (see http://www.zonta.org/ for more information) and indicated that we were going to help Afghan women, via donations, to attend school. How wonderful that we can bring Zonta's mission, Advancing the Status of Women Worldwide, to an immediate situation such as this. Helping women in a war-torn country go to school so that they can support their families - I can't tell you how happy this made me when we voted to begin this project.

Think about the women in your life. Don't they deserve equality in their own lives? My oldest son has a t-shirt -which I did not buy for him, and I'm proud that he wears it proudly.

It says: Feminism is the radical notion that women are people, too.

Couldn't have said it any better myself. I'll have to find out where he got that shirt!