Good evening, ladies! 70 degrees today and sunshine. It was a good day so I took Stan to the barbershop and he got his much needed haircut. Then we went to the dollar store to get some valentines. After that we went to lunch. He slept for 4 hours this afternoon!

Faye, another beautiful sweater! It's good to know you can't easily get in by breaking a window...but didn't any of your neighbors think someone might be breaking in?

Jean, I'll keep the prayers coming for her. It doesn't sound good. Stan's foster mom had cancer of the pancreas that had spread to her stomach and liver. The doctor said it was one of the worst kinds because you have no pain until it is too late. When she was diagnosed she weighed about 275 pounds. She was down to 87 pounds when she died. This was a lady who loved to eat and she had a most miserable end not able to keep anything down. Hospice was wonderful and she was able to stay at home which is what she wanted. She lasted for 15 months - the doctor had said 6-9 months. The only good thing was she never had a great deal of pain.

Good morning ladies! It is going to be another beautiful day here. It has been gorgeous here the last two days, nice and warm and sunny yesterday. We enjoyed the day. We got the storm window put back in and did some shopping. We bought a lamp for the dining room as it has no ceiling lighting at all. We got home unpacked it and the glass shade was broken, trekked it back and exchanged it and this one is broken too. We will take it back and if I decide to try another one, I am going to take it out of the box before I leave the store.

I finished the carseat blanket. I think it came out nicely. The pattern is beautiful and it was really a snap to do. It looks much harder than it was. I am waiting for the yarn for the baby's sweater and hat and I just ordered some yarn for a pair of little bellbottoms to go with the sweater and hat and am waiting for it. In the meantime, I am going to start a sweater for my friend for her birthday, which isn't until August, but my hands would go nuts without needles and yarn in them!

Jean: I know you have to be chomping at the bit to get out of the cold and into that Maui sun. I had nagged Jack about getting an extra key hid somewhere but he never wanted to. Well, this changed his mind! We have two keys and I bought two more. I put one in my change purse part of my wallet, one in the garage and one in the car. This should allay any more lockouts. Our car has a keyless entry function so as long as we can remember what it is to punch it in, even if we can't get the garage key or the one in my purse we will have that one. Jack didn't want one in the garage as he said someone might get at it and the one in the car would be enough. I asked him what would I do if he was at work and I got locked out? He said I could get the key out of the car!! "Ummm, Jack, you would have the car!" So, he had to go along with what I wanted! It isn't in danger of being broken into. We have a garage door opener so you have no handle lock etc on the big door, the side door is inside the gate and is kept locked and we keep the gate locked all the time too.

Susan: Thank you for the nice compliment. I really did hate knitting that sweater. In this neighborhood, no one sees anything if you know what I mean. I was a little anxious about that too, but nada! Glad Stan is getting back to his old self. Jack needs a haircut too. He is beginning to look like a girl.

We went out to dinner at TFIF last night and everything was fine. I didn't eat a lot of my steak, about a 1/3 of my mashed potatoes, but felt fine. I came home and got into pjs, balanced my checkbook and sat at the computer reading some news etc. All of a sudden my throat was constricted and I couldn't get it to relax. I vomited into the sink most of my dinner. With the colon stuff I am nervous about what that amount of stress would cause so I yelled at Jack to come downstairs. I still don't know what caused it. My abdomen was and still is a bit sore from the vomiting, but I wasn't sick then and am not now. Weirdest thing I have ever experienced!

Well, I need to get going, get chores done and try and get some housecleaning done. I have to block the blanket so the ends won't curl too.

Have a wonderful Sunday.
Faye

Good evening, ladies - a warm and sunny day today - 65 degrees. Did the usual laundry, housecleaning and grocery shopping after Mass.

Faye, I get that feeling every once in a while where my throat is closing andi can't eat. I think it has something to do with all the surgeries I've had on my intestines (4 blockages). The food seems to sit in my stomach and not digest. Then I throw up and everything is fine again. It happens about once a year so I don't worry about it. I tell you, though, if I get a stomach ache I'm worrying because that's how the blockages always start.

Jean, I hope you get a break from winter soon!

Good morning to you all! It is sure warm this morning. I have the ac on. Of course when I am in bed, I always have my little fan blowing on my head because my head sweats so badly but I had all the covers thrown off me on an off all night. We may end up taking the electric blanket right back off if this kind of weather continues. It is in the mid 60's right now and supposed to get into the 70's today and tomorrow then dip back into the upper 40's on Wednesday.

Susan: Thanks for the info. It was the strangest thing to just be sitting there and be fine and then all of a sudden feel like you are going to vomit. I tried slow breathing and swallowing, but eventually my little bit of dinner came up and then though my muscles were sore it was fine.

Jean: If I am doing sweaters, I wash them if they are washable, then block them by putting them on a hard surface covered in a towel and pin them into place. With the little blanket, I just pinned it into place and spray water from a spray bottle all over it making sure it was good and damp but not soaking and let it dry. I do hope they can find Anita's problem and fix her up. The poor thing must really be miserable. It seems like you have little symptoms here and there but once they diagnose you, you really feel horrible. I will continue to pray for her. Jack used to get stuck with ushering all the time too because people wouldn't show up or show up wear a sport shirt and didn't have a tie, etc.

My new yarn is a big flop. It is a cashmere blend, but low on the cashmere end. It knits up like chenille and I hated it, so I tore out what I had started and am sending all but one skein back. This particular online store makes you jump through hoops to send it back, but I have no use for it. It isn't something I need right away anyway and I have already picked out what I want to use to make her another sweater that is more ambitious.

Lots of work to do today so I better get started.
Faye

Good morning to you all! Boy it is warm here this morning. Won't last long, but it is nice while it is here even if it is raining. It is Super Tuesday here so we go out this afternoon and vote in the primary. I am disappointed because I am not thrilled with my choices left. I really liked Fred Thompson, but he came out too late and I don't think he got aggressive enough right off the bat. Ahh, well, I will decide by this afternoon.

Jean: Lion Brand have a cashmere that is more expensive and has a larger percentage of cashmere in it. When I looked back at it, the stuff they sent me had only 5%, which is nothing. Oh, with regards to the blocking. The proper way to block a sweater is to put it into a sink of water making sure it is completely wet. Take it out, lay it on and towel and jellyroll it to squeeze out the water. Do it again with a fresh towel and a third time if need be. You just want it damp not dripping, then pin it into the shape you want and let it dry.

I got all my grandkids stuff in the mail yesterday and I think we are going to have dinner with Kelly, Tom and Thomas on Friday. We want to talk to them about something and she is traveling for work like a demon so it is hard to catch up with her. Poor thing just got back from a week in Texas, leaves a week from tomorrow for 2 weeks in Alabama, is home a few days and off for another week and so on for several weeks. She says she is not sure whether she is still married or not. Poor Thomas! She also goes on these trips with all men but she is so fiesty she probably keeps them all in their place! She said we could have dinner Friday if Tom agreed. The little dog I bought Jackson is so cute. She is a floppy eared white dog with pink and red hearts all over her and red ribbons in her ears. I bought a barking thing to put in her paw and she barks and pants. I named her Sweet Pea. I am probably going to get into trouble, but I put a $20 bill in Thomas's card besides the other stuff I got him. We haven't been able to get a time lined up to take him for his two straight A report cards and we are coming up on a third one so I am trying to make up for it a bit. Mainly, I just like spoiling the little guys. I think it comes from the fact we can now afford it. We didn't have two nickels to rub together the whole time Jack was in the Navy or up until we moved down here 7 years ago actually, so now that we live better and can afford it, I get a kick out of being able to do things for people.

I bought the cutest paperbacks when I ordered T's stuff from Amazon the titles begin "Old age is...." They are about this bunch of retired people who have a detective agency and only do jobs for other retired people. The lead character is Jewish and they are cute books. The only problem was I couldn't get the first in the series.

I guess I better quit stalling and get the morning chores started and the house cleaned downstairs.

You all have a great Tuesday. Hope you have thawed out some Jean. Hopefully my apple green and cream yarn will be here today so I can start on the baby's sweater. Not having knitting to do everyday is driving me nuts.

Faye

Good morning - 75 degrees today! In a few days it will be back to 50's.

Faye, have you ever thought about using your leftover yarn to knit for charity? Some of my friends knit little caps and blankets for premies and another group does stuff for those with cancer. Our quilt guild does a service project every year. This year we are making quilts for the soldiers wounded in Iraq. We ship them directly to the hospital in Germany. So far we've sent 173 since September.

Jean, I'd love to send you a little of our lovely weather. Soon I'll be able to complain about how hot it is.

Poor Stan has been having an upset stomach, diahrea, and feeling weak. I'm afraid it's the flu since its been going around here. We have 2 out today (at work) with it. We had our flu shots but the paper said there was a strain that the shot didn't cover. Anyway, we have to go to the surgeon today to have his wound checked. The visiting nurse said it looks better.

Good morning to you all! Boy we had some kind of weather yesterday. We went and voted around 3:45 then took some stuff over to Kelly's office, went by the post office and dropped of a package then decided to grab a bite at Chik-fil-et. The sky had turned dark and there was lightning behind clouds when we left. We ended up with lots and lots of tornados, one of which hit the mall just a mile from our house and boy what a mess that is now. We lost power most of the night so the house became hot. I ended up coming downstairs and sleeping in the recliner because it was too hot for me upstairs so of course Fortune had to sleep between my legs. I am now pooped and sore. It was pretty scary last night with the tornado sirens going from about 4:30 when we got home until around midnight. The winds were horrible between 60-70 mph so the back yard has all kinds of leaves from the neighbors' yards on the deck.

Susan: Yes, I have thought about knitting for charity. There are a lot to choose from. I have a friend that pretty much exclusively knits blankets for charity. Hope Stan's tummy gets to feeling better.

Jean: I am hoping we can arrange dinner on Friday night with the kids as we haven't seen Thomas since a couple days after Christmas. I do miss him. I stood in front of the voting machine yesterday and just stared for about a minute. The candidate I wanted dropped out as did my second choice so I was stuck with what was left. I decided to just be a good old wife and vote my husband's choice. I figured I couldn't go wrong that way!

I am going to go back up to bed for awhile. When the lights went. it was so pitch black in the house. Thank goodness I had enough brains to take a flashlight upstairs when we went to bed because it wasn't long after that the lights went out. I went and lighted a big jar candle in the bathroom so Jack could see if he needed to go to the bathroom then came down and put one on the washer so I could see if I needed to go.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!
Faye

Good morning to you all! Boy it turned chilly here yesterday. We went from AC back to heat. What a weird winter we have had. A lot of the schools over here in my area were out yesterday because of no power.

Jean: Don't you hate those days when you have plans to get something done and time just gets away from you? I too hate all the politicos. There isn't one that will stick to his guns right or wrong. They tell you what you want to hear instead of being honest about what they believe. I imagine when it is all said and done, we will still have a mess in this country no matter what party gets in or who controls what. No we don't have a basement. Most of the homes in Memphis don't have basements, actually. We can put ourselves in the area of the laundry room and bathroom. There are no windows in that area. Jack will peek outside to see what it looks like, but he doesn't stay out long.

I got my yarn for the baby's sweater and have about a 1/3 of it done. I decided to try and knit it on circs even though it is a piece pattern. It looks like it will easily work. I am not too fond of the cream color, but they didn't have white in the gauge I needed. It is a cotton blend yarn so it should be comfortable for a baby.

Not much else going on. I am counting down to my test and not looking forward to it on one hand, but wanting to get it over with on the other. Jack is taking his FMLA papers to the doctor's today to get them filled out so he can take sick time while I am in the hospital. This doctor charges $10 to fill them out! I guess I understand as it takes time away from patients and he is one busy doctor. He has office hours three days a week and surgeries on Monday and Wednesdays. It will be nice to have Jack there with me instead of being alone like I was last time. It wasn't his fault, he just didn't have the time to take off and didn't know about the fmla deal with the sick time.

Hope you gals have a nice day. Jean, don't you leave the end of next week for Maui??? I know you have to be looking forward to that.

Faye

Good morning to you all! Boy, you should see the mess down by the mall. They have the main drag taped off and police cars blocking the road between the side streets that go past the mall because of the debris. I went to the post office to drop off Jackson's valentine's package and you should see the stuff all over the place, trees down, looks like insulation pieces everywhere in the trees, on the street, in the parking lot of the post office. I didn't realize what a mess it was. Jack didn't see any of it yesterday because when he went and mailed the stuff it was in the dark.

Jean: My enema test is a week from Monday. I will be glad just to get it over with at this point. From what I understand it won't take too long. I hope that is the situation. I can't get the nurse at the surgeon's to call me back. They told me that I have to drink lots of water after the test so the barium comes out of my stoma as the stuff turns hard if you don't. Well, I wondered about the other end since the water can't get to it. I wanted to ask her if I should do another regular enema to clean out the barium or if they do flushing or something at the hospital. I hate not to know everything that is going to happen beforehand.

It is going to be near 60 today and sunny which is nice. I am running a few errands and going to try and make my eye appt so I can get new contacts. I am wearing my last pair and we had to change dr because the city changed vision plans. I loved my eye doctor but he doesn't take this crappy new plan. I have to go of all places WALMERT! Oh well, I can muddle through I guess. I just need the lenses.

I have the body of the sweater knit. This is the color combination. It turned out ok, actually. I am going to knit both the sleeves at the same time to speed things up a bit. The sweater turned out fine putting it on circs and knitting in the round instead of in pieces. The worst part is the neckline. I hate doing the neckline of sweaters.

Well, I need to go. I have lots to do today and we are supposed to meet Kelly and family this evening for dinner at Red Robin. I am looking forward to seeing the little guy and giving him his Valentine's gifts.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend. Count down for you, Jean......