Where has this month gone?

Seriously, I ask you!

Because I so don't know...

I'm headed to VA tomorrow. Well, to VA via SC, where I'll be tomorrow night and maybe the follow few days. Just wanted to let everyone know who might be interested.

I've got three bags of sunflower heads that need de-seeding but aren't dry enough yet and I don't even know how many winter squash that will be coming with me, and a whole bag of home-grown onions. Not to mention the spinning wheel, sewing machine and tons of fiber and fabric for my summer projects... Kinda crazy... My car will be as packed as packed can be.

I'll be around as much as possible here and on Ravelry, but not sure how much that will be at least for the next week until I have better access to a computer.

*hugs*

No, really?

Just another German trekker: Some passages in the movie seem to indicate that there’s still some kind of monetary economy in the Star Trek Universe. How else could, for example, McCoy have “nowhere else to go” after his divorce?
Have you been aware of the fact that mainly this plot point (along with other, less crucial, ones) couldn’t withstand close examination given the fact that there is no money in the Star Trek Universe? (I mean: He’s a [physician] - how could he NOT be of service on earth?)

BobOrci: And Kirk offers to pay for Uhura’s drink at the bar, There’s money, or some kind of credit system in this universe.

Source

Come on, is that the only answer we're going to get on this? "Oh, there's money in this universe"? WHY is there money in this universe? Since that's something that really shouldn't have been effected by Nero's interruption/destruction of the known timeline if the change only effected things from the day the Kelvin was destroyed onward. Unless things have rippled all the way back to First Contact and changed everything... In which case, Enterprise isn't even canon anymore as it was (Not that I would really mind that because I hated Enterprise and thought that they did a lot of really cracky, inconsistent things with that series. For example, T'Pol experiencing pon farr because oh, female Vulcans go through that too? Uh, no they don't! Everything we ever had about Vulcan physiology in TOS and Voyager indicates that pon farr was something male Vulcans had to deal with, not female. The females generally just had to deal with being mauled by their husbands for an indeterminate amount of time every seven years until the males got it out of their systems. The writers were obviously just lazy about coming up with a reason T'Pol and Tucker would be getting it on. Fail, writers, fail.)...

We do know that there was some kind of credit system in the Prime universe (that's what I'm going to call the original timeline until given a better name for it), but it wasn't money as we know it today. The first thing that comes to mind is that the Ferengi have gold-pressed Latinum. And obviously, Starfleet personnel sometimes buy things from them... (I'm thinking specifically of Quark's dealing with Harry Kim in ST: Voyager episode "The Caretaker" here, and Harry would have been able to pay him had they struck a deal, so obviously there's some way to exchange their Starfleet credits for Latinum.) But I don't remember anything that is ever really clear on the subject. I hope in subsequent movies, this ambiguity is cleared up somewhat and that we DON'T see someone whip out their VISA card! 'Cuz that would be so ridiculous and upset me greatly (and I know I wouldn't be the only one)! I think something like that would be far more ridiculous than the presence of "Bud Classic" and "Nokia" in this universe. And those product placements were bad enough. (In ST: First Contact, we saw that human society as we know it in the present completely broke down during the 21st century. Knowing that, I have a very difficult time as it is buying that major multinational corporations would survive such economic upheaval to still be doing business in the 23rd century, and I'm not sure what the writers could tell me to make me buy that the corporations are still operating in Star Trek XI's present)...

I just don't like Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman's answer to this question.

Knitting...

I've finished knitting the shawl I'm making for my sister. It took considerably less yarn than the pattern had indicated. Now I have an entire skein of Malabrigo Lace, plus a little more, left and nothing to do with it. It's my sister's colors and very much not mine. I might hold on to it in case I come up with something else to make for her, but I might also put it up for trade/sale on Ravelry (*loves that feature*). Now, I'm waiting for the blocking wires to arrive from KnitPicks. I decided to order them since I really think it will be much easier to use them to block rather than just using pins and my bed. I want this shawl to look really good.

I'm also working on mitts for my friend Lara. She wants gray owling mitts. I'm using Mirasol Qina. I love this stuff! I think it's my favorite yarn at the moment. I'm worried about the mitts not fitting her though, so I've had to put them down for now until the next time we hang out and I can get her to try them on.

So I am out of projects to work on, since I have no yarn available for anything else and no idea what I could make with what I've got on hand. I guess I'm just uninspired to come up with something.

And, even so, my fingers are itching for a project.

I've ordered yarn from KnitPicks as well. Bare Peruvian Highland Wool. 15 skeins. I'm going to use it for the Lace Chuppah pattern that was in one of the Interweave Knit magazines a few years ago... Am I nuts to be working on a Chuppah when I don't even have a boyfriend, nevermind an impending wedding? I don't know... Maybe it will bring certain energies in my direction. One never knows. But I'm going to make it anyway.

The order hasn't even been processed yet, so I probably won't get it for at least a week.

An update on the pumpkin theft...

... since I've just discovered seconds ago what it is that happened. And get this because it's hilarious.

My brother went to a wedding today. Can't remember if I had mentioned that or not. So he and two of his friends were driving to the wedding together and one of them showed up here without a gift to bring. So my brother - genius that he is - says to his friend, "Hey, take a pumpkin!" And doesn't bother to ask me. Or anyone else. If that's okay. And his friend - being the kind of guy he is - doesn't think there's a damn thing wrong with taking a pumpkin. To a wedding. As his gift to the bride and groom... ... ... What? If anyone has ever wondered about my brother and his friends and just how stupid they are sometimes, this should give you some indication.

So I didn't even have to ask them. They walked in a few minutes ago and my brother said to me, "I took down that sign. That was really tacky." And I said, "Well, someone stole one of my pumpkins last night or this morning and I don't want them doing it again." And he was all, "Oh, no, we gave it as a wedding gift." And I was all, "What? You took my organic, heirloom, perfect french pumpkin? And you didn't even ask if you could? We thought it had been stolen. Do you even know how much an organic, heirloom pumpkin that size is worth retail? It probably weighed 30 pounds!" And they were very apologetic, though they did say it couldn't have been more than 15 pounds, to which I said bullshit. It was at least as big as the one you got at Walmart last year (or was it the year before?), Ilana. So. His friend has agreed to buy me several hundred pounds of cow manure at the hardware store tomorrow. Because I have a hard time getting it myself since it's only sold in 50 pound bags, and while I can lift and move them, I don't like to, so I'll let them do it. And that will repay me for this inconvenience.

:-(

Someone stole one of my pumpkins out of my front yard either this morning or last night. The biggest one. Had to have been about 30 lbs. If it was last night, it was done while I was sitting just on the other side of the wall from where they were, with the lights on and the tv on and everything (because I was up all night... been having a little trouble sleeping lately). Or it was taken this morning while it was raining. Either way, that took some planning and balls. And I'm fucking pissed off. I can't go ahead and pick the rest because they really aren't ready to be picked yet. They need another week, maybe two, on the vines. But now I'm worried I'm going to go out there one day and more will have been stolen. I'M NOT GROWING THESE FOR PEOPLE TO STEAL! And I know whoever did it wasn't someone who needs it. This is a dead-end street in a fairly well-off neighborhood. Nobody who lives around here is hurting for food. It's some kid being a delinquent, most likely.

I know it was there last night at about 7:30 when I went out to get the zucchini that were ready there because I checked on it to make sure that the damp wasn't making it rot, and it was there and it was fine.

I've put a sign in my yard saying that the pumpkins aren't in fact free to a good home and that stealing is not appreciated. I'd like to sit out there with a shotgun. But I don't actually have a shotgun (yet) and I have things to do other than guard the pumpkins in my own freaking front yard. So I made the sign. I used the frame of the anti-marriage sign I absconded with from the street near the polling place at the end of the block on Election Day last November, but the cardboard on it is different for this new sign, obviously. It's always good to recycle.

Still, grrrrrrr.....

Also. Our oven is broken. We have no oven until at least Wednesday. This makes me exceedingly sad.

Movies and other things...

I've decided on the Victory Shawl on Ravelry. I found yarn at the local LYS's five-years-in-business sale that will be perfect for my sister, so I bought it and am making this shawl for her for Christmas. YAY! I still need to figure out something to make for myself, but I can at least put off making those decisions for a few more weeks.

I'm already on the 11th "module" of pattern repeats (the pattern is in French - thank goodness for my high school French teacher and babelfish!). So far, it's looking good!

Don't scroll down if you haven't seen Wolverine or Star Trek and you don't want any spoilers for either movie. Because spoilers, they are abounding below... Wolverine is first, then Star Trek, so if you're clever with your mouse, you could read about one without reading about the other...

And for those of you who haven't seen Star Trek yet... I'm just gonna leave this here to tempt you a bit (and as awesome as the trailer is, it still doesn't quite capture just how amazing the movie itself is):



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Wolverine was awesome, despite what they did to Deadpool. Lots of people have objections about what was done to Deadpool's character, but I thought it worked for the purpose of the movie and the plot. Others might disagree. Overall: bone claws, backstory, general awesomeness, pimp cane wielding Gambit. I'm a happy girl. Also, I'm easy for Hugh Jackman. I even liked Kate & Leopold because of him and I greatly dislike Meg Ryan as a general rule.

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Saw Star Trek on Thursday at 7pm in an advanced screening. My first reaction was basically that it's THE MOST AWESOME RESET TO EVER BE MADE IN THE HISTORY OF EVER! BAR NONE! NO, I DON'T CARE!

Seriously, I couldn't get out of my seat even to stretch after the movie was over until the credits had completely finished and the houselights came up and even then I was on a cloud of happy for the next three days. That has never happened to me before, even with LOTR: ROTK, and I cried through the last 45 minutes of that movie the first time I saw it. So. This is saying something. I think I also hyper-ventilated due to awesomeness-overload a few times.

It was really great.

James T. Kirk is a badass. Who likes 20th century rock music, vintage cars, motorcycles and leather. I approve. Spock is pretty badass too. Together they are unstoppably badass. As it should be.

Sulu kicks ass and takes names. Really, really, loved his character in this.

McCoy... OMG, Karl Urban is an amazingly underrated actor. He became McCoy more than any other new actor became their character in this movie. He had down the way DeForest Kelly spoke as McCoy, his facial expressions, the way he walked... Everything! It was incredible. Also, he had some of the best lines. Really quite funny and I loved him.

Scotty and Chekov and Uhura are completely brilliant. Uhura could have been given more to do other than being a love interest for Spock, but there were a lot of other characters and she is, after all, a language specialist. She translates. So... yeah... she's important, but not exactly necessarily in the thick of things a lot of the time. Also... Spock is her former professor... making their relationship a little... questionable on the ethics scale, imho (and if I understood that situation right), because he's still has authority over her at Starfleet Academy. However, I can see why they did it given how much Uhura flirted with him in the early days of TOS.

Others have complained about a few things and I'll tell you why I think these complaints are nit-picky and dumb.

• #1. That the make-up they used for the Orion (the would be the green girl who was Uhura's roommate) Kirk was trying to bone looked fake and was jarring.
  
  Dude, she's supposed to be that color green. That species looks like that. They have green skin, just that color with bright eyes and often times (any more) brightly painted lips so that there's somewhat of a - what I like to call - radioactive cats effect. It's not supposed to look like Rebecca Romijn did when she played Mystique in the X-Men movies, even though you might think that's a "cooler" effect. Just no. Orions always look pretty much just like they did in TOS. Always. It's the way it is. Accept it or GTFO. And if you still thought it looked like the most fake effect ever and you were startled by it so much you laughed and thought she looked ridiculous, I suspect you're not really a Star Trek fan to be perfect frank about it.



• #2. Tyler Perry's cameo.
  
  I didn't even notice it a little bit, and I've seen it twice now. The second time, I knew he was in there somewhere and still didn't notice. I think someone's been watching too much Madea.



• #3. Kirk and Spock Prime were suspiciously marooned on the same planet.
  
  Delta Vega is what it is. It's the planet that people get marooned on apparently (see TOS episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before"). Go with it. Also, one can easily see that Kirk and Spock would have been put on the same planet since there probably aren't that many M-class planets near Vulcan... Delta Vega being one of the planets in the Vulcan system. Also... It's the planet that Nero and his crew were mining when Romulus was destroyed. So, yeah, makes sense Spock would get dumped there by them.
  
  My little issue with this: Why is Scottie necessarily on the same planet? That was a bit convenient. And I find it a wee-bit coincidental that Kirk and Spock were dumped off close enough together to actually find each other just by chance before making it to the base, but I guess since they were in proximity to a Starfleet station, they were both probably intentionally placed there so that, after trudging through the ice and snow for a while, they would eventually find shelter and not die of exposure. But really, I'm more than willing to let these points slide.

Also didn't have a problem with:

• Winona Ryder being Spock's mom


• Any of the casting


• The new look for the ship


• That Kirk became captain at 25. If you saved Earth from being imploded, I think Starfleet would give you your own ship too.

Things I did have a problem with:

• I have no logical explanation for why there would be water on the floor in some parts of Nero's ship. Were their bilge pumps not working or something (not that they'd have bilge pumps on a space ship as opposed to a regular floats-in-water ship)? I really want an explanation for why they wade through ankle-deep water in space...



• The Nokia thing being in the car, and the "Budweiser Classic" at the bar... Because Earth in Star Trek is supposed to be post-capitalism. I'm not sure they really have brand names in the Trek universe. I'm not sure what explanation there could be for it other than product placements are "the thing to do" in these kinds of movies these days, and personally, that just doesn't fly with me completely when we're talking about STAR TREK for the love of all that's holy in science fiction. I certainly have never seen them in any other Trek movies or shows. So that did give me pause once I thought about it. But, really, I'll let it slide...

Other than that, I think I loved every nanosecond of the movie and can't wait for it to come out on DVD, and can't wait even more for the sequel(s? - please, I pray).

Oh, and he's funny too!

I love our president. My love, in fact, is ever-growing, really...

Word!

"Fat Judges Need Not Apply" <--- That this sort of thing needs to be said is sad. I hope the President can rise above such ridonculousness...

Because I needed another reason to hate Smithfield Foods...

So now they're probably in some part responsible for the swine flu pandemic. Nice one, guys.

I actively boycott Smithfield Foods products and all subsidiaries (and Paula Deen too... She's their celebrity spokesperson)... not that I ever bought all that much pork in any of its various forms, but now I'm quite conscientious about it.

For those who are unaware of Smithfield's dubious reputation,, check out this Rolling Stone article (be aware, there are graphic images) about the atrocious way they operate their facilities inside the US where there's supposed to be regulations to stop this flagrant corporate irresponsibility. God only knows what they do in other countries where health, safety and environmental laws (not to mention, laws for the humane treatment of animals) are not even up to our standards (which are obviously too low if Smithfield gets away with these things).

Smithfield refutes many of the claims made in this article (interestingly not my favorite part with the quotes from the guy who started the company about just how much he laughs at the EPA investigators)... However, it is interesting to note that due to at least one of the health concerns detailed in the Rolling Stone article - water contamination - North Carolina had enacted a moratorium on hog "concentrated animal feeding operations" (CAFO's or "factory farms") in 1997, which was extended repeatedly until 2007 when it was allowed to expire... Not that the moratorium was particularly effective. South Carolina, Virginia and Quebec have also passed moratoriums limiting CAFOs and the methods employed at such facilities, and I know that Florida has laws detailing the amount of room a pregnant sow is supposed to be allotted (so they can't be kept in crates barely large enough for them to breath in, forget about moving, as they had been until the referendum was passed). I honestly don't know what's being done about curtailing dirty hog farming in those states right now, but I'd be willing to venture the answer is "not enough."

Random update...

Moved my doctor appointment up to today (well, yesterday now) because my acid reflux went a little nutz Sunday night. Still no closer to really having that under control, thanks to prescription drugs being crazy expensive and health insurance choosing not to cover anything since not having it won't kill me, but it was still good to discuss the findings (or not-findings) of the ultrasound I had last month in greater depth. Nothing to worry about there, and the chances that the pains are being caused by something life-threatening like some sort of cancer or serious like chronic appendicitis are pretty well diminished to as near to non-existent as possible without a hell of a lot more scans (just to be 100% sure)... so that's good.

Also the bursitis is improving as quickly as can be expected... It's just something that takes months and months to heal. He gave me some more tips to help it along. The stretching has been helping. I also need to minimize how much I drive as much as possible and adjust my car's seat a bit so that as little pressure as possible is put on my hip. I might also buy one of those posture support things for my car and one for home use and another for work because most of those "ergonomic" chairs at work are ironically painful to sit in, even for a few minutes, but not as painful as standing for over 7 hours straight. I need to get a new computer chair for home too. Really, really need to do that. I've found that using a straight-backed dining chair to sit in while spinning also helps because it's higher and straighter than my computer chair or any of the chairs in the living room. I might be able to return to more regular spinning... although not at the pace at which I used to work, where I was spinning about 6 ounces a day or more. Half an ounce a day, max, if I'm careful and cautious about it. But that's much better than nothing at all.

My left-over lung yuckiness from my cold is almost entirely gone. YAY!

Also, I've officially lost 10 pounds in the past year! \o/ This is a very good thing. I don't want to loose weight quickly, I just want to be headed in that direction - loosing, rather than gaining - without having to be working out like crazy or depriving myself of things I want to eat. It's working so far! Also, my doctor was able to discuss this with me, and express that if I could loose another 20 over the next few years, he'd consider that a perfectly healthy weight for me, BMI be damned, without offending me at any point. He's the first medical professional I've ever seen who has managed to do that. Kudos to him.

On to another random observation: I'm really liking Cupid on ABC. It's on late, at 10pm. But it's kind of a delightful light sort of show. A nice balance to all the heavy drama I tend to watch. If you haven't seen it, give it a chance if you would. It's cute... Fairly predictable if you know anything about Classical mythology, but still cute.

I'm coming out of my warmer weather induced desire to knit with nothing but cotton and now I want to make a shawl. Lace. Soon. I've got a hankering because several times this winter and spring I've wished for a proper shawl for times when a sweater is just too much and bare arms are just way too cold. Laminaria maybe? With cheap merino lace yarn from KnitPicks, I'm thinking? I would do the Danish Wrap Shawl that I've been wanting to make forever but I don't yet have the variety of appropriate handspun yarn I'll need for that, so it will have to keep waiting.

It's been forever since I posted...

Don't know why. I haven't been knitting as much as usual, and lord knows, I haven't been spinning (much - it's been rather miserable not being able to while surrounded by beautiful fiber). The bursitis in my hip is still giving me issues. I see the doc again on Friday. Hopefully he'll suggest another treatment that might be more effective. I have spun a little, just to test the waters. It hasn't seemed to make the pain any worse than casual driving does as long as I don't do any more than 30 minutes of spinning, which is about how long it takes me to do one bobbin's worth. I've been spinning the lovely Corri-Mohair blend I got in Greensboro at Gate City Yarns.

On the knitting front, I've not done too much since early March. Mostly granny's favorite dishcloths. I did finish the dresses for my niece. Pictures, such as they are, are on my Ravelry. I need to get more pics from my sister with the baby wearing them, but that might have to wait for a few more weeks until they fit her better and its warmer in Virginia.

I've also been working a lot. I'm still waiting to hear from the state about my eligability for certification. Could be several weeks still until I hear back. I know that there will be a lot of classes I need to take, plus internship and at least two subject area tests. Could probably arrange to take the subject area tests over the summer and get them out of the way. The qualifying scores are ridiculously low from what I've been told.

I got a book of children's fairytales (like cleaned-up-for-delicate-modern-children Grimms' stories) in Latin and I've been translating that with only the benefit of the glossery for help with the vocabulary. No help with the grammar. I think I've been doing an okay job. I should probably try to remember to take it with me to lunch with my Latin prof tomorrow (if we're able to go to lunch) and have her look at it. The reason I'm doing that is because I think a good deal of the Latin subject area exam is translating random passages with only the a dictionary for help with the vocabulary, so I thought this was a pretty good way to test myself... Although what I really need to do is get Caesar's De Bello Gallico, Cornelius Nepos' De Illustribus Viris, the Aenied and Metamorphoses, since those are what will actually be tested on the real exam. And I need to brush up on the particulars of Latin grammar so badly it's not even funny... But it will be good to know that I'm doing alright with translating without using a grammar guide.

Vacation update... short and sweet...

My mom, my sister, my niece and I went up to Floyd, VA yesterday to go antiquing and we bought a rocking chair, some paintings and some dishes for the cabin, and it was snowing up there. O.O First time I've ever seen *snow* falling from the sky. It was bizarre! It wasn't cold enough to accumulate on the ground though - only 34 degrees. Today, I hung out with my sister at the bead shop she works at part-time. Tomorrow, I'm going down to Greensboro to go to the yarn shop there. It's irresistable! Truly...

Heads-up...

I'm driving to VA tomorrow for Spring Break. Lots to do around here before I go. No time for anything else it seems...

I'll be back no later than the 13th.

Spring knitting...

So... It's getting warmer, and more so than in previous years, I feel like I need to knit in cotton right now. So for the time being, I've put aside all my wool and I'm concentrating on warm weather work.

I've made a steering wheel cover for my sister, using the pattern that I came up with for my own.

I'm finishing up some cotton pocketbook slippers.

I'm going to start on a Spring Beret as soon as I'm finished with the slippers.

And I'm plotting my next endeavor. I think I'm going to make a few summer dresses in different sizes for my niece. I haven't decided on a pattern yet. I'm looking at Summerlin, The Two Summer Sundress (get on Ravelry if you want to see it), or the Babydoll dress from Knitty. I want to make something she can wear now and this summer and something that she'll be able to wear next summer maybe. The Two Summer Sundress has the advantage of doing this all on its own. It's made to grow with the child and be worn during two consecutive summers. *nods* It's also made out of Peaches & Cream or Sugar n' Cream, both of which I have on hand in many colors.

Simple Steering Wheel Cover

I decided after years of using a steering wheel cover I bought in desperation at Walmart that I really should get rid of that thing and make one myself. I searched and searched for a steering wheel cover pattern that I liked and couldn't find one. So I made one up! :D





This is designed to fit a steering wheel with a circumference of 46 inches. If your steering wheel has a different circumference, measure it and knit according to the pattern for 60% of that measurement. With that said, onward to the pattern itself...

*******

Yarn:
2 balls of Peaches & Cream Worsted Weight 100% Cotton Yarn in your choice of colors.
Needles:
Size US 10

Pattern:

Holding two strands together, CO 12 sts.

Knit in garter until long enough to stretch tightly around the steering wheel. (In this case, 28 inches.)

BO.

Sew BO edge to CO edge, being careful that it doesn’t twist.

Sew onto the steering wheel. It will be very tight, and should not require anything else to prevent slipping.

*******

Now, it's true that this is not so easy as some to remove to wash. But if you use a constrasting color yarn to sew it on to your wheel, or you're just really careful, you can cut the string you use to sew it into place and then un-sew it, wash it, and then put it back with a yarn needle and either the same string or a new one. It works for me anyway...

It's Spring-time already?

The Spring issue of Knitty went live today! YAY!

The Shipwreck Shawl... Um. YES! I was trying to design something like this myself... A little less like a shawl than this and more like a piece of fish-netting that was found on the beach and used by a selki, but the idea behind it is kinda similar.

Also - I love Aeolian So pretty! I want make it... with handspun... but I don't spin that consistantly and thin yet.

Reverie is likewise kinda awesome. I'm really loving all the berets and slouches that are being designed right now. I finished the February beret not that long ago, but I want to make myself many more...

If i make myself a sweater from this, it will be the green version of Decimal.

I really like the subtle texture of Andy.

I love the swirls of the cables in Absinthe, and I just love Cachoeira in general.

I love the airiness of Flit + Float. That is a scarf I would actually wear, I think.

I adore the historic pattern for the baby hood. How cool is that? (I also bought the new Piecework magazine this afternoon because there's a pattern for a sontag as well as several other historical pieces in it.)

On to the Features...

The Intentional Spinner looks like a really good book to have.

*cough, cough*

Well, I feel as if I dropped off the face of the earth of late. I can't sit here too long, but I want to write something so I'll be brief.

I have the flu. I missed three days of work this week, but I should be able to go Monday. I'm getting better, but slowly. I also think I might have bursitis and/or tendinitis possibly in several location in my right hip (based on quite a lot of research this week while I've had little else to do). I went to the doctor last weekend about it, but the doctor wasn't in, so I had to see a NP. No offense to those out there who have taken that path in life, but NPs are and always have been utterly useless to me in private practice. They always tell me I have something I don't have and invariably misdiagnose me and then it has to be correctly diagnosed by the doctor at a later date. This time, it was no different. I won't go in to all of it because it makes me far too angry and I really want to scream at the woman what an idiot she is. Just one of the many things she did wrong, was that she gave me a prescription for the same GERD meds I've been taking over the counter that aren't working for me, but she didn't tell me that's what she had done because they have a different name by prescription. The only real difference is that they charge about 10 times as much for it. This after I explained to her what I had been taking and that it didn't work and I needed something else. Can we say, why do you have a job? I think we can. The NPs who work at CVS though, what gems they are. Always very knowledgable, polite and helpful. So as soon as I have a day free from working, I have to make an appointment with an actual doctor and go back to find out what's really wrong with my hip, as well as this stomach pain that my doctor has previously told me is scar tissue in my duodenum... Only problem is that the duodenum is higher up. The location is classic for the start of chronic appendicitis. I think I might have to demand some actual tests rather than just relying on his guesses. An ultrasound. Some blood tests. Something. Or maybe I should find a new doctor. That's a possibility too. *sighs*

As far as the flu goes, I'm mostly just coughing and sniffling now, but I don't want to get sick again so I'm taking it easy this weekend until I'm sure it's well and truly going away...

My hip is why I can't sit here for long. It hurts to sit at the computer. I don't know if it's the height of the desk, the chair or what, but I just can't do it. I also wonder if I originally hurt my hip by spinning too long and too vigorously. I wonder if others have had similar injury. Because the NP didn't believe me and looked at me like I was the stupidiest person ever to come in to her exam room. Hey, just because I don't get my repetitive motion injuries by typing, ballet dancing or running marathons, doesn't mean they aren't real, lady.

In other news, I have only the toe of the first of Jensen's socks to do. I'm waiting on pictures of his feet. ... Yeah, pictures of his feet. I want to know wheather he has particularly broad toes or not. I also got the handcards I ordered. Can't remember if I mentioned that or not. They're nice. I've been blending some of the alpaca Ilana sent me with some lambswool that wasn't carded to my liking and was difficult to spin on its own. It's fluffy and beautiful.

The garden is doing very well. With the flu, I haven't been able to be out in it at all since last Sunday, but it's doing all right. My dad's been watering for me, and that's really all it's needed. There's a lot that should be done, but nothing that absolutely must be done for at least another week, which should give me enough time to finish getting over this flu.

The new issue of MaryJane's Farm came in the mail today. It is beautious and filled with gardening stuff and recipes. *my eyes are all aglitter* Especially interesting to me is the article on people who are turning their front yards into vegetable gardens. What a fantastic idea that is for those who have soil in that location that will work for them. Us... all our good soil is in the back. Oh, sure, we could always amend the soil in the front to get it up to snuff too, and we are for the flower beds that are already established, but our front yard is the size of most people's back yards, so a full-scale effort there is not going to happen any time soon. Still, I had my friend Joe help me out today by putting down new top soil in one of the beds and planting it with the summer and winter squash seedlings that I never found room for out back. Now there are some of all varieties in both locations. :D

The Oscars...

Meant to post about the Oscars last night, but was so tired and it was so late! So now...

I really enjoyed the show. I'll tell you what I enjoyed the most (other than Hugh Jackman... seriously, I think I'd watch him read the dictionary if someone cared to televise it): I really enjoyed how as they were announcing the nominees for the acting awards, the presenters told each nominee what was so special about their performance. I could see that the nominees seemed genuinely touched by the complements and it just struck me as very special. Kate Winslet's was my favorite acceptance speech. YAY!! She won! :D (I <3 Kate!) Anyway, it seemed to me that this year's Oscars was a more intimate show... I don't know if it was just me, but I got that there was a sense of camaraderie and affection and... family really among a lot of the celebrities there, and I really liked that...

If you've got no idea what I'm talking about, watch this clip... It's good anyway (It's Kate! :D):



And OMG! I can't tell you how thrilled and moved I was that Heath was honored.



I cried. I won't lie...

Also - YAY! Sean Penn! I'm not a huge fan of him, but he gave a great speech:



Also - YAY! Penelope Cruz! I didn't see the movie, but I hear she is amazing in it and I loved her in Woman on Top years ago. And OMG! That DRESS!!! Did you hear the story? She saw it in a vintage clothing store 8 yerars ago and didn't buy it. She told herself that she'd go back for it when she needed it, and if it was still there, it was meant to be. She went back recently, and it was still there! 8 YEARS LATER! O.O Dude! The odds! The dress is 60 years old. *is amazed* Also, her speech rocks too...



On a completely different note: Today I started my 3 week long job. The teachers they have covering the classes really want me to actually teach instead of having them do it, but seriously, it's math and the FCAT (a standardized test in this state) is in a few weeks and I wouldn't want me preparing them for it if I were them. I know it's 6th grade math, but... still... Plus, they don't pay me enough to actually really teach 5 classes a day 5 days a week for the next three weeks. That's what the permanent teachers are getting paid to do.

Also today: My handcards arrived in the mail! YAY! *dances* Now I can start in on all the raw spinning fiber I've got laying around waiting to be processed.

Jam...

So I made that strawberry jam I've been talking about for what must be weeks by now. It is completely delicious. I used this recipe.

I've discovered something interesting. I think I'm allergic to strawberries. I hardly ever have strawberries, despite the fact that I live less than 15 miles from the Winter Strawberry Capital of America. Never fresh because I always expect them to be sweeter than they are, and I find it so disappointing when they aren't, and I think the last time I attempted to eat them was when I was 8 or 9 years old. I vaguely remember breaking out in hives at that time, but I can't clearly remember it and neither can my mom. I've had other forms of strawberries over the years. Strawberry cake, strawberry sauces on like ice cream and things like that (and I mean the real stuff, not artificially flavored things) and strawberry cheesecake for sure. Never had a problem with any of those. But this evening I've eaten about a tablespoon of strawberry jam and now I've broken out in hives. :-( This makes me very sad because my jam is really yummy.

Four pounds of fresh strawberries, fours after they were picked in Plant City...




Washed, cut up and ready to go in the pot...


Mashed and boiling...


Finished cooking...


All done and processed... 11 jars altogether...

*headdesk* Seriously?

This is what some people are worried about right now?



Georgia legistlators who are upset about these Georgia State University classes... You fail. Sorry. You just do.