In which trek has reasons

It seems that I have not posted in a few days. There are reasons. Good, valid reasons. A whole Sunday Afternoon Night Bullet Post worth of reasons...

• Neatnik ran triple digit fevers from late afternoon Wednesday until mid-afternoon yesterday.



• For those of you who are counting, that works out to nearly 72 hours of body temperatures reminiscent of FM radio station call numbers.



• This is not the best formula for enjoying your four-day holiday weekend.



• It is, however, a very good formula for getting Daddy and Mommy sick.



• It is fortunate that my level of sick is was limited to a sore throat and a slight, intermittent cough.



• Why is this a good thing? Since Neatnik's fevers have come down, Number Guy decided to take over for her in the three-digit fever realm.



• I was the only resident of chez trek who attended mass this morning.



• Okay, it wasn't entirely altruism, religious fervor, and spiritual yearning that got me out of the house this morning: I was partly motivated by the opportunity to escape from the house of contamination for a time.



• Amazingly enough, occasionally there is some wool here on the wool and the word blog.



Back: check; left front: check; right front: check
Ready for the blocking phase!


• I'm sure that you are wondering how I was able to knit whilst caring for a couple of flu-ridden family members.



• I'll tell you, since you asked so nicely.



• I was up before 5:30 this morning because when Number Guy runs a high fever, he thrashes about in bed.



• A lot.



• Not much sleeping happened on my side of the bed last night.



• The cardigan isn't complaining, though.



• I shall need to give these three pieces a bath and block treatment before sewing them together, of course, and then it is on to the short-row sleeves Yarnhog recommended.



• That means that I shall have to open the text file she sent me way back when and actually read it.



• Yarnhog? You should be prepared for the flurry of panicky emails to begin any day now...



• Thanks, in advance.



• I started this post around two-ish this afternoon. Then Neatnik and I joined some friends for our annual Thanksgiving Day feasting. Number Guy, obviously, needed to stay home. We left him in bed and came home to find him still in bed.



• Yes, this is quite a sick Number Guy.



• I started feeling more poorly during dinner. As soon as we got home, I stuck thermometers into both Neatnik's mouth and my own.



• She's definitely on the mend and can return to school tomorrow.



• I, on the other hand, have joined the ranks of the FM radio stations.



• Meh.

I am scheduled to teach a tutorial on the use of simple databases tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck: I am sitting down now with my teaching plans and hoping that I can review all of the material before I pass out on my keyboard.

It is really hard nearly impossible to secure a substitute professor late on a Sunday evening.

In which we are thankful

We had some plans for today. They included Neatnik singing in the children's choir at mass this morning and volunteering at a local church to serve turkey dinners, and a wrap up of G-rated movies at home in the late afternoon. Of course, we also planned to get in our daily exercise in between the mass and the volunteering.

The operative word in that first sentence is had.

Neatnik started running a fever last night. Okay, we can handle that. I called her out of the choir commitment, shot an instant message to the friends with whom we were going to volunteer, and dosed the child with some ibuprofen. We put her to bed early and hoped for the best.

At three-thirty this morning, she awoke, coughing crazily, and we checked her temperature: 103.6°F. That isn't a body temperature - it's a radio station. More ibuprofen.

We didn't have all that much kiddie ibuprofen on hand come morning, so, before Number Guy and Neatnik woke up, I threw on yesterday's jeans and a baseball hat and walked to the nearest grocery store. Everyone else in the store was dressed just like I was and their purchases were just as small as mine but it was painfully obvious that we had different needs for our purchases: I bought a bottle of chewable ibuprofen and five bags of throat lozenges; the guy behind me was picking up a bag of flour, a canister of sugar, half a dozen packets of yeast, and some lemon juice concentrate.

Yeah, I was kind of wishing that I was going to his house this afternoon, too.

So, on a day like today, what is there to be thankful for?

• Hot and cold running water.
• Flush toilets.
• Indoor plumbing in general, really.
• The ready availability of medications.
• Grocery stores that are open on major holidays.
• Public libraries.
• Literacy.
• Tag-team walking.
• Fitting into skinnier jeans than I ever dreamed possible.
• Good cholesterol numbers.
• Good friends who promise you a drive-by fooding after they finish their volunteering stint.

What are you thankful for today?

In which trek reviews Return to the Hundred Acre Wood

I don't know if I have ever shared with you my love for a certain silly old bear. I can't help it and, quite honestly, I don't want to. I am in love with Winnie the Pooh.

He's my hero. He is happy with who he is. He is a loyal and trustworthy friend. He understands the value of Doing Nothing At All far better than I.

I wish I could be more like Pooh.

When I learned that there was going to be a new Pooh book, Return to the Hundred Acre Woodthis autumn, I raced to get my name on the request list at the local library. I wanted to be able to read it before I decided if I wanted to buy it. I love Pooh so much that I could not bear the idea of purchasing this sequel and being disappointed.

My fears were completely unfounded. David Benedictus has done a wonderful job remaining true to the tenor of Pooh's creator in tone and turn of phrase. Mark Burgess' drawings share the same touch of innocence and simplicity as the original illustrator.

I read the first chapter aloud to Neatnik yesterday morning over breakfast. She was entranced and is eager to read the whole thing herself.

Would you be surprised that I finished all 160 pages yesterday whilst on my late morning walk?

PS - Beware the bittersweet ending...

Binary

This afternoon, after taking the scheduled spreadsheet exam, one of my students approached me saying,

"I have to thank you. Before I took this class, I didn't know anything at all about the binary number system. It came up on my military exam after you lectured on it. Thanks!"

     IMMD

Deer me

After mass this morning, I dragged, kicking and screaming encouraged Number Guy and Neatnik to join me for a walk. Number Guy has been walking with me every day before work for about a month now. On this cold, but sunny November morning, we decided to do part of our walk in the wildlife sanctuary close by chez trek. Neatnik observed, as we began to crunch the fallen leaves underfoot, that it would be really cool if we were to see a deer in the woods again, like we did a couple of weeks ago.

I felt it necessary to point out that our chances of seeing a deer weren't all that great but that we could keep our eyes peeled.

Neatnik regaled Number Guy with the tale of How Mommy Saw a Deer Cross the Stream in the Woods. Nevermind that Neatnik was not actually with me at the time, nor that it happened over a month ago; she remembered me telling her about it and wanted to rehash each and every little detail about the incident.

We followed the leaf-carpeted path and just after we made the last right turn, I flung my arm around Neatnik's shoulders to halt her forward progress: there was a six-point buck at the far end of the path, staring straight at us. We paused there for at least a full minute: he looking at us and we looking at him.

Neatnik wanted to turn around, to retrace our steps so that we would not scare the deer. Unfortunately, that would probably have spooked the deer anyhow, so we simply walked slowly and quietly towards the deer, and the left turn which would take us out of the woods. The buck hopped off the path and into the brush, but not very far. He was a brave sucker: he went just far enough into the woods to let us know that it was his idea to go there, that it had nothing at all to do with our presence nearby.

As we passed the spot where he had been standing when we first caught sight of him, he moved deeper into the woods and silently disappeared...

Of tableware and togs

I seriously should have posted this earlier in the week...

Last Friday, Neatnik and I took OutOfState Grandma to one of the local thrift shops after school. A good time was had by all. We bought four each of these:

And the dishes ran home with the spoons (and forks)

The plates are Lapos Cathedral pattern by Mikasa and have been hosting Oatmeal Bread toast. The forks and spoons I picked up for Neatnik to use for school lunches. If a spoon or fork doesn't make it home someday, we aren't out but a quarter and she's pretty good about bringing home her cutlery.

We already owned one of these, but for just a buck, we now have a spare:

I thought they black and white looked "artsy"

The black leather jacket that OutOfState Grandma insisted looked like it was made especially for me is at the dry cleaners to be fumigated and Neatnik's $2.00 blue velour hoodie has already seen quite a bit of action.

All in all, a very sound $46 investment.

The next day, while Number Guy took OutOfState Grandma to the funeral, Neatnik and I touched base with another local thrift shop. There I found this wonderful lambswool sweater:

Fits beautifully and so warm

I already got the black wool slacks and light tan wool/rayon slacks dry cleaned but they wouldn't make a very interesting picture. Just use your imagination. Standard issue ladies' dress slacks. Do the same for the medium grey sweatshirt and we are in business. Twenty dollars total.

Neatnik even found something: she bought a charcoal grey flannel cardigan with her very own piggy bank money.

A very successful couple of visits, if I do say so myself. Can't wait for the jacket to come home from the cleaners: I think that it will look awesome paired with the camel colored sweater over the black wool slacks.

In which trek returns

Wow, I simply cannot believe that it has been almost a whole week since I posted. I kept meaning to post but then I wanted to have pictures (there has been some actual knitting!) but then I didn't have photographs and, well, I am such an ashamed blogger. Let's just move along with a Thursday Evening Bullet Post, okay?

• I am swamped with assignments to grade tonight and I have to prepare for tomorrow's lecture and I my eyes are already crossing from being tired.



• Enough about work.



• I scored seven pairs of pants from a fellow Freecycler yesterday. I am currently washing them for the fifth (or is it sixth?) time to wash out all of the residual fabric softener from their previous owner. Note to people who use fabric softeners: you don't have to use it each and every time you run your laundry - the stuff will last until the end of time. Trust me on this one.



• Previous bullet point included due to the rather annoying fabric softener/fragrance allergies here.



• I picked up two pairs of fully lined wool slacks and a lambswool sweater and a leather jacket at the thrift shop last week. Very, very sweet. Perhaps I should have saved that for another post...



• Enough about clothes.



• Okay, back to clothes except that this time it is clothes in progress. Worked on these at the allergist's office last week and this week.
  
  
  I am no longer worried about
  this cardigan turning out too small to fit me -
  just about my ability to finish before next summer...
  
  
  In person, the color is a deep cornflower blue!


• I am continuing my daily walks (a must-have for the sanity) and have recruited Number Guy to walk with me in the mornings before work.



• Enough about fitness.



• Did you know that although Chinese food restaurants all seem to be open on Christmas Day, they all seem to be closed on Thanksgiving Day?



• I've been reading a variety of books lately and thinking about doing more reviews. Note the operative word: thinking. Not like I've been all that prolific about posting this week... Neatnik has read over 150 new books this year. We shall be going out soon to celebrate!



• Never enough about reading.



• Enough about holidays.

That's all I've got to show for this week. I still need to grade a million few dozen projects, prepare for lecture, say prayers and tuck Neantik into bed, and hang up and fold laundry.

In which trek is too stressed/tired to be clever

It is nearly ten o'clock as I sit down to write up this post. The rest of the occupants here at chez trek are upstairs, all of them either sleeping or in the process of getting ready to be sleeping. Only I am still downstairs on the "living" level of the house, trying to clear my head from the insanity stress of the past few days. The only way I am going to be semi-coherent is with a Saturday Evening Bullet Post.

• That sounds very literary and lofty, doesn't it: Saturday Evening Bullet Post?



• Too bad I don't have a crack illustrator to handle my cover page.



• Today began for me with a brisk early morning walk in the cold and drizzly greyness which loomed over the neighborhood. I needed to make it home in under an hour so that Number Guy and OutOfState Grandma could make their way north to the funeral.



• Yeah, I was soaked when I got home; both from the inside out and the outside in. Still, a vigorous walk is a good thing.



• Neatnik and I took care of a few errands and then we noticed that the sun was starting to break through the clouds so we walked to the bookstore, taking with us my $5.00 off coupon and one of her birthday party gift cards.



• The bookstore was having a story hour and party so Neatnik convinced me to wait around for half an hour for it to begin.



• No, these things never do begin on time, now, do they?



• By the time the first story and Christmas carol was sung, I'd had quite enough, thank you very much, and I told Neatnik that we needed to go. We paid for her selection and departed.



• It started to mist heavily on our walk home.



• I suppose it wouldn't be all that nice to say that if we had not waited around for the story hour, we would have been home all snug and dry before the first drops of precipitation hit the pavement. It would, however, be true.



• Fortunately, Neatnik's chosen item at the bookstore today was not printed material. She saw and fell in love with a small umbrella made from a clear plastic printed with all kinds of fruits and vegetables and cookies and cakes - each one with a smiley face on it.



• Timing: the kid had it.



• Neatnik was pretty much dry when we got home.



• I, on the other hand, required a full change of clothing and a towel for my sopping locks.



• At least I didn't melt. Although how anyone could have melted at today's temperatures is beyond me: even sugar doesn't dissolve well in water near the freezing point.



• Number Guy and OutOfState Grandma didn't make it home from the funeral until dinner time.



• No, those of you who are scratching your heads in confusion are not mistaken. We were originally supposed to deliver OutOfState Grandma back to the airport late this afternoon. Those plans had to be scrapped and re-worked once we learned that the funeral was at 11:15am, not 9 o'clock as previously advertised.



• The rescheduling wasn't all that difficult but apparently communications between chez trek and Number Guy's sister (who made the original flight reservations) broke down completely.



• OutOfState Grandma did not fly into the local airport late Friday afternoon as we were told: she flew in late Thursday afternoon.



• Yep.



• Number Guy called me in a panic at 5pm saying that OutOfState Grandma was at the airport. Me, in an amazing burst of eloquence blurted, "What?!"



• Yeah, that's me: always with the quick retort.



• Somehow, the days got confused and we had to pile everyone into the minivan to zing up the highway (in the rain, yet) to collect OutOfState Grandma.



• Over one hour and two airport terminals later, we had acquired our house guest and were making our way home.



• No, we didn't eat roasted chicken for dinner that night. We had take out pizza. Wanna make something of it?

So, that's a quick summary of the action around here. I did knit a wee bit today while Neatnik played with cousin Bobblehead and was even able to wander the local mall with Number Guy after dinner so things weren't all stress and frazzlement.

Tune in next week to discover how well the Sunday afternoon airport delivery run turns out. I just know that you are sitting on the edge of your chair in anticipation.

Me? I'm just hoping I survive the weekend with my sanity intact and that I find some minuscule slice of time during which I can grade my student's spreadsheet projects.

In which there is sadness

An unhappy drive-by Wednesday Night Bullet Post...

• Even though Number Guy had the day off today, there is sadness in the air at chez trek this week. One of Number Guy's cousins passed away unexpectedly. The funeral is Saturday.



• We will be hosting OutOfState Grandma Friday night.



• This entails picking up at the airport.



• We do not like airports.



• This also entails dropping off at the airport late Saturday afternoon.



• Have I mentioned that we do not like airports?



• Another thing we do not like is sickness in the offspring.



• We have had our seasonal flu shots but we have seen neither hide nor hair of an H1N1 vaccination.



• Neatnik started complaining of a sore throat this morning.



• She is not feverish - which is good.



• We just sent her back to bed with a dose of Tylenol - which is somewhat less than good.



• Just heard coughing from her bedroom - definitely not good.



• Has the possibility of a Thursday pediatrician visit occurred to anyone else yet?



• I was planning to stop by the library tomorrow.



• They were not open today.



• We did not get any mail today, either, although I checked the mailbox three times.



• Why was there still municipal recycling pick-up today if there was no literacy and no traditional paper communications?



• Oh, and one other thing, we are not feeling the blog love here. Where are all of my previously-faithful commenters?



• It's my blog and I can whine about comments - or lack thereof - it's been a tough week and the next few days don't look any sunnier.

And on that sad note, it is time to end, but not before shamelessly begging for some comments...

On night skies and zombies

The paparazzi were fluttering about the kitchen of chez trek this afternoon. It seems that someone tipped them off that they had seen the first sign of the onset of the zombie apocalypse. Heedless for their personal safety, they came in droves, toting their Nikons, swooping and swirling, seeking the perfect angles with which to document this momentous event.

At first, it looked like the target might outwit the photographers. The evidence was cleverly camouflaged.

Is that it? Is that what I think it is, peeping out of trek's shoe?

Undaunted, they slyly waited around until the victim target could avoid them no longer.

:: gasp :: I think, I think... It just might be...

Realizing that what limited cover there was was blown, the target gracefully conceded defeet defeat and freely allowed snapshots to be taken.

A finished pair of Madagascar Socks - Night Sky Edition.
Ack! The zombie apocalypse will begin at any moment now...

I just heard a rumor that trek's cast on a Grownup Skweffle and that there might be slight pattern modifications!

:: thud ::

Of beaches and fruit

Two very cool things from earlier this week. First up, a scan of Neatnik's spelling homework. They had to use each word in a sentence. She strung her sentences together to make a story.

She got a "Very Good!" from the teacher, too.

Next, a handful of apples for Number Guy.

I couldn't get over how crisp and red they were.

In which trek is poked

When I awoke this morning, well before the dulcet chiming of the alarm clock, I had the feeling that today was somehow a special day. It took me a moment but then I remembered: Dr PreciousMetal's office had called me yesterday, signaling that they had secured sufficient serum to start my immunotherapy regimen and reminding me that I had a one o'clock appointment. Today was the day!

I would like to be able to say that I leaped out of bed, dancing for joy, but I am not what you would call a morning person. Despite being happy about starting my allergy shots, I dragged my tired little self from the snuggly warmth of my comforters and made my way downstairs to get our breakfasts going. Soon, Neatnik and Number Guy made their appearances in the kitchen for morning sustenance. At the duly appointed hour, Neatnik, now dressed, combed, and brushed, boarded the big yellow school bus and Number Guy and I bundled ourselves up for the arctic temperatures very brisk autumn air and executed our morning constitutional.

Okay, honestly, I bundled up. Number Guy merely donned a windbreaker. We spoke of election results and scone recipes and all manner of minutiae until we arrived once more at the threshold of chez trek and he collected his things for work and I hustled myself upstairs to a really hot shower.

The post-constitutional morning was a normal sort of morning: email and household chores received appropriate amounts of attention. Blogs, sadly, did not.

I next hoofed to the mall to invest in new lingerie and to exchange a pair of new walking shoes. I purchased a pair last week but after getting them home and trying them on around the house, I realized that the toes were just too big. These new onesfit very much like my old ones.It won't be hard, however, to tell them apart...

... until I put 800 or so miles on the ones on the right, that is.

I did manage to grab a quick lunch before facing the frigid winds once again en route to Dr PreciousMetal's office near the library. I made sure that I was well-equipped for my journey: I had a book, a SIP, and a snack.

We are rejoicing here at chez trek tonight: the allergy shots were successfully administered and I had no life-threatening untoward ill-effects beyond a mild itchiness and I finished half a sock toe while waiting my obligatory twenty minutes in the waiting room.

Week 1 down. Approximately 311 weeks to go.

Data deficit

Would you look at that? Yet another weekend of radio-silence from chez trek. The most efficient way to remedy this dire data deficit is with a Monday Night Bullet Post...

• I can knit.



• No, really. I can.



• I suppose that it would be much easier to convince everyone of this little-known fact if I could provide photographic evidence of my knitting.



• Alas, I cannot.



• Daylight Saving Time has ended. We have returned to our regularly scheduled Standard Time and so the sun says nite-nite earlier.



• I did not get home early enough to use what little daylight there was on photographing the cardigan and the socks, both of which are longer today than they were on Saturday.



• I am ready to make toes for my socks! For both of them!



• This pair of socks has taken me far longer to knit than I care to admit.



• So, I won't.



• The reason why I was too late getting home to take pictures of my handiwork was that one of my students needed to talk after class.



• You wouldn't have turned your back on her teary countenance, either.



• So much for sock and sweater snapshots. Maybe tomorrow?



• Not making any promises, though.



• Why, yes, the vanilla milk campaign is continuing nicely, thank you for asking.



• Speaking of milk, I was mentioning to Number Guy this morning how our milk supply seems to reduce in weird spurts.



• We had a half-full gallon container on Thursday morning. I bought two more gallons at the store Thursday afternoon.



• Saturday morning, I poured the last bit of milk from the open container, leaving two full, unopened gallons in the refrigerator.



• This morning, there was just about a half gallon left.



• Seriously.



• Number Guy then told me that if there is less than a full gallon, he steers clear of the milk so that we are not left in the unenviable position of needing to rush out at 6am for milk for Neatnik's breakfast cereal. Otherwise, he feels free to grab a big, tall glass pretty much any time.



• I bought three gallons of milk today.



• Tomorrow is Election Day. Number Guy and I walk right past our polling location on our morning pre-office walk.



• Isn't that convenient?



• As long as we are on the subject of walking, I racked up some major serious mileage last week. I'm not planning to do as much this week, but I did walk to the bank and to the post office this morning.



• Oh, that thump you heard was the sound of Chris falling off her desk chair.



• Sorry, Chris! The chocolate en route should help.



• April, your little prize is on its way, too.

Well, now that I've caused bodily injury to a very nice knit/book blogger, this looks like a good place to stop.

I wish you all much strength and fortitude during this week of adaptation as we all cope with the time change. If that doesn't work, I wish you lots of chocolate and caffeine.