41.18%...

of the people who work in my area of the office are sick. That's 7 out of 17. Unfortunately, I'm one of the 7. :(

Some random questions

• Did you know that, in Excel, pressing CTL + ; (control + semicolon) automatically enters the current date into the active cell? This could be HUGE in my life! Seriously.
  
  
• Did you ever wonder why you have to bag your own groceries at the most expensive grocery store in town? If they're not paying the cashiers to do it, why are their prices higher?
  
  
• Why doesn't said grocery store stock any individually quick frozen (uncooked) chicken? Has this suddenly become an unusual ingredient?
  
  
• Why does the space bar randomly stop working? (I'm guessing it's related to the canned air cleaning I gave the keyboard the other day, but still...)
  

Answers welcome!

I'm alive :)

And finally doing better, although my back is still a problem. Most days, I can walk fully (or almost fully) upright, and the pain is more of a dull ache than a huge roar. Of course, I discovered that *not* spending the entire evening with the laptop helped... let's call that the reason for my silence this week. That, and that nothing interesting happened -- just a whole lotta work ;)

Except, I got a GREAT deal at Lord & Taylor on Friday. It's clearance time, of course, and I had coupons for an extra 15% or 20% off sale or clearance items. I stopped in Friday after the chiro, and found a great suit. Making a long story short, I paid less than $48 for a $300+ suit, in a classic brown and white small herringbone. The jacket needs to be tailored, but even allowing for that expense, it's a great price on a three-season wardrobe staple. (Yes, I wear grown-up clothes for my real job, with stockings and heels and everything!)

OK, I need a shower and then I'm going to baste my mini-booty quilt. Toni reminded us that the deadline is just two weeks away, and since I screwed up my back, I've barely been able to stitch!

Yum-O

No, I didn't get to spend the day with Rachael Ray... just had a yummy dinner last night ;)

Today was the last day for one of my team members, so a bunch of us from work treated her to a fun dinner last night at a rodizio restaurant. Have you ever been to one? It's an interesting experience (and Ireally don't mean "interesting"!)

Rodizio is a Brazilian specialty, I guess, and it refers to an all-you-can-eat meat extravaganza. It's an experience unto itself... the waiters brought skewer after skewer after skewer of food (which in our case was cooked on skewers over an open flame). They slide a morsel of food off the skewer onto your plate, then move to the next person. They served us chicken, turkey, sirloin, filet, sausage, beef ribs, pork ribs, pork loin, some other cut of beef, ostrich, alligator and cinnamon-crusted pineapple. My biggest issue is that they don't tell you at the outset what they'll be serving... I wanted to know what my options were at the beginning, so I'd know what to eat and how much of it! Way too easy to overeat... Nonetheless, most of what I had was great (the chicken, especially), and it was fun.

For anyone still paying attention, I'm obviously not going to get my 200th post on my birthday. I'll save the giveaway for then, but don't worry, it won't be too long! Good news: my finger *did* trigger, but not all the way, and it didn't last long. Not so good: my back is still a mess (hence, the lack of posts). I see the doc again tomorrow, and we're going to have a little come-to-Jesus on my progress (or lack thereof). Fingers crossed for improvement!

So here's the deal...

I look for patterns in things -- what's the next number in the sequence, how are the tiles laid out on the floor, how many steps to get from here to there, etc. A couple of days ago, it occurred to me that it was possible to make my 200th post, my 1-year blogaversary AND my birthday to align. I'd only have to post a little more than once a day to make it happen.

So, you know I have to try. I'll apologize now for the boredom that is sure to follow ;) Hey, maybe I'll photograph all my UFOs/WIPs and post one each day... at least there'd be pictures. Hmmm...

On a happier note, George's bloodwork was all normal. Just one more test for basic kidney function to rule out super early-stage renal issues, then he's in the clear. Lucky him -- that means a new low-calorie, high-fiber diet to encourage weight loss!

One last thing... new season of Project Runway starts next week. Are you up for the challenge?

Annoyance

This is probably TMI -- I really won't be offended if you skip it!

So I went to have my lab work done today... easy-peasy, just draw three tubes of blood. Luckily, I'm not needle-phobic, nor do I faint at the sight of blood. Neither the doctor nor the nurse told me they wanted a urine specimen, too. I always want to do fasting labs in the morning (since I definitely need breakfast in order to function), so I'd been up for about 90 minutes at this point. Who's got a full bladder after only 90 minutes time and no input, other than the swallow of water I had with my morning meds? So I give them what I've got, carry it back through the waiting room to the lab, where the tech frowns at me and my sample, because it's not really "enough." Well, if you wanted more, you'd have given me the cup last week so I could do it at home this morning. Wouldn't that have been better for everyone? I'm just saying...

My to-DONE list

... is rather short this weekend!

• I stitched all but eight of my Fresh Squeezed blocks. 41 blocks - 8 unsewn - 1 test block = 32 blocks done. Technically, I sewed four of them last weekend, but that's still 28 new ones done. I wanted to finish them today, but I had a headache, so I took a little nap instead trying to kill it before work.
  
• Read a book (The Watchman by Robert Crais).
• Tested the template (!) for my Miniature Booty II quilt.
• Covered two events for work (Thursday night and tonight).
• Packaged my Stamp Basket blocks to send to one of June's Lotto winners.
• Cooked dinner once. (Hey, this is an accomplishment for me!)
• Saw my new doctor, and I think I like her. Lab work tomorrow (fasting - sigh), but I got all my meds, no problems.
• Made a vet appointment for George for Monday afternoon. Oy... He was more social this weekend -- wanted to be in the same room with me -- but he's still not his usual self.
  

My camera is supposed to arrive tomorrow. Look forward to pictures!

Improving...

Good news... my finger is getting better. It's still not terribly functional, but it bends probably 60* now at the middle joint. Maybe I can avoid the cortisone...

So, I've just been hanging out, watching Wimbledon and What Not to Wear. I did some sewing yesterday on my Fresh Squeezed Monkeys quilt -- I think I made 12 blocks yesterday (maybe 16, but I think 12). There's a long way to go yet, but it feels good to see the piles of units shrinking and the pile of blocks growing!

I *want* to be working on my birthday block for Miss August, but I don't think precision cutting pairs with the trigger finger... I'm clumsy to start with, so I guess I won't tempt fate with that idea. Luckily, Fresh Squeezed is past the cutting stage.

Ouch!

I've got a trigger finger -- basically, a finger that's stuck in one position. The image shows the traditional bent "stuck point," but mine is stuck in the straight position. It's my left hand, middle finger. While one occasionally has a need for a stiff middle finger, it's not really useful as a permanent or persistent feature.

Basically, the tendon (and maybe its sheath) is inflamed or swollen, causing a nodule. The tendon can't slide through the sheath due to the swelling, so it sticks or catches. I can feel the nodule at the base of the finger on the palm side; it hurts, but not like the finger hurts. H.O.L.Y. cow.

I had this happen once a few years ago, but with my left thumb. I was sure it was broken, although I couldn't figure out how it happened, and it wasn't swollen. The ER doc was very nice, and didn't laugh at me ;-) That one went away within a few days.

This one seems worse. Or maybe my tolerance is just lower. Either way, it needs to just go away quickly -- I don't like the treatment options at all! (Cortisone, and if that doesn't work, surgery to open the sheath to make room for the inflamed tendon to slide.) I guess it's get through the weekend, and reevaluate.

I guess the upside is that my finger is stuck in the stretched position (straight out), rather than in the trigger or bent position. I can at least do a few things... like flip people off ;)

I'd ask you to cross your fingers that it gets better quickly, but that's too much even for me!


Image from webmd.com.

Making a List...

Not of things to do, but of things that are done! It's a whole lot more satisfying ;)

FRIDAY AFTERNOON:

• Car has had it's 57,000 mile checkup... and three hours and many hundreds of dollars later, sounds just like new! It was supposed to be a simple oil change, so you can imagine my joy at the need for this service and a new motor mount to replace the one that had collapsed. Well, I'd sure be unhappy if the motor fell out, so I guess this is a good thing ;)
  
• Ordered a new digital camera -- well, a refurbished one, actually. The repair for mine was going to be $80 plus tax, plus driving to the repair place twice, which is ~30 miles from work. I could get it online for $88 plus $6 or 7 for shipping. So, for equivalent cost, I saved myself a hassle. I hope!
• Washed (and Retayned) the batiks I bought for birthday blocks, and washed a load of laundry.
• Scanned, processed and sent images to Sophie for the JULY block lotto. (I did my June blocks -- those cute little stamp baskets -- early, so was treated to a sneak peek of the July theme -- I think it'll be very popular, to be honest!) After the lotto opens next week, I'll show you the blocks I made.
• Made an appointment to meet my new GP and talk her into some prescriptions.
  

SATURDAY:

• Made Joy's 9" New York Beauty block in ocean colors for Kate's Birthday Block Swap. Tested the new magic teabag paper... I like it, other than having to trace the pattern onto it, rather than run it through the printer. I'd show you the block, but have to wait for the camera! I'd probably do a couple of the color placements differently if I had to do it over, but all in all, I think it's pretty successful. Since it's not even July yet, I'll probably hold onto the block until the camera arrives, so I can get a pic before sending it off.
  
• Wrote a little review of said magic teabag paper for the gals on the quilting.about.com forum, since it's such a hot topic in our birthday block swap group.
• Covered a 2-foot square of insulation board with a little batting and some fabric for a new pin board. I should have covered all three of them (there's actually just enough fabric to make them all match!) but, like an idiot, didn't think of it until I had put the supplies away!
  
• Pressed the rest of the half-square triangles open for my Fresh Squeezed quilt, then trimmed them to 4". There were at least 6.3 million of them, I swear. OK, it was only 164, but it was horribly dull. Luckily, trimming the strip-pieced units to size went much faster.
• Actually MADE four of these Fresh Squeezed Monkey Wrench blocks. Loving this quilt!
• Caught up (I think!) on responding to comments...
  
• Cooked dinner. (and ate it, of course!)
  
• Petted the cat.

I lead a fascinating life, don't I?!

Weekend Update

My *new* ALQS quilt is already a top, and I've assembled the backing. I was truly stunned to find appropriate thread in my bin, so I just need to get it layered and quilted. I'm a little surprised at how much I like it, to be honest -- not that that's a bad thing!

Plus, I spent half the morning at the DMV and on the phone with GMAC -- again. After phoning their call center many times over two weeks to request a copy of the lien release letter so I can title my car in NJ, and getting the same "you'll have it in 24-48 hours" answer, I had a fit on Friday. I called, and refused to speak with anyone but a supervisor... I did relent on that point when I could hear that my call finally got routed to someone in the United States. She explained that there was no request in my account for this paperwork. I guess that's why I never got it! Twenty minutes later, she called me back to say it was being faxed at that moment to the DMV and my office (for my reference, and as a safety net!). Since I was already on the way home (we have half-days on Fridays in the summer), I decided to go to the DMV this morning. Where they did not have my fax. I went to the office, and I didn't have it either. Luckily, the woman I talked to in Kansas yesterday gave me her number, so I called it. Someone else answered, but she was able to get the paperwork off the other person's desk (where it had the fax receipt attached, mind you -- where do lost faxes go, anyway?) and send it again while I waited for it. Back to the DMV and HALLELUJAH we got the job done! I've got plates and my registration; just need an inspection and I'm set.

In some ways, that feels better than getting my (second) ALQS top done ;)

Bronx Zoo

Continuing my weekend recap -- and I'd better hurry, before the week is over! Yesterday's field trip apparently drove me to napping -- I fell asleep on the couch for almost three hours in the evening. Yup, got a ::great:: night's sleep, complete with wacky dreams.

Luckily, my non-quilty sister had a better day plan, and she sent me some pics from our day trip on Sunday. We went to the Bronx Zoo. If you didn't know, we always try to visit a zoo on our summer vacation. Pictures from last summer's visit to the National Zoo are in my flickr album; we actually got some good panda pics if you like that sort of thing.

Anyway, getting to the zoo meant getting up early to catch a 7:45 NJTransit train New York Penn Station. Two hours later, after a transfer to the subway and a three-block walk, we were at the zoo. It was a horribly humid day, but we had fun. We saw some gorillas in the mist (literally), took a monorail ride through an Asian area, saw a giraffe family and generally enjoyed our visit. Too bad the new Madagascar exhibit wasn't open yet...

There are a LOT of peacocks at the Bronx Zoo. And it's mating season -- we did see some displays of their beautiful feathers, but we also saw a lot of males and females just wandering around. We were looking at something completely different, when Lisa looked down and noticed a female practically at our feet and really within touching distance. When we started talking about her, she got annoyed and got up to walk away -- and revealed...

Two little chicks! You can see she's walking away, and the chicks are right behind her! They hopped right up on the rock and toddled off. We were so surprised we just stood there and watched -- and got this picture ;)

For amusement, here's Lisa with a rather statuesque rhino. See more of her Bronx Zoo pictures here.

The zoo trip took much of the day... we had leftover pizza for supper and watched 27 Dresses. The funniest part is her trying on the dresses (including some interesting thematic numbers)... had they cut the movie to about 27 minutes, it might have been funny. Ah well... no rhinos were harmed in the making of the movie, so I guess I won't worry about it ;)

Paisley Toy for Zoe

Lisa sent me some pics today... most importantly, let's show off Zoe's new toy, which is this cute bone-shaped softie, complete with squeaker. Love the fabric!

Saturday...

Lisa and I had a great weekend... we went "down the shore" on Saturday (I don't understand why it's said that way, but it is!) by way of a Sonic Drive In (YUM!) and Quilting Possibilities. I swear I didn't know they were practically across the street from each other, but I also didn't turn down Lisa's invitation to visit the shop! Lovely store, too far away to be my LQS (although justified, surely, by proximity to Sonic)... and we did a little damage in a short amount of time!

Lisa picked out a pretty lime and purple and blue paisley, which, with the addition of a squeaker, became a new toy for Zoe. This one's shaped like a bone (hmm... should have taken a picture of that!), and hopefully it will last longer than 54 second! Lisa has a real knack for putting fabrics together -- I'm good, but she's better and faster with color. I knew I had to buy some things for the new birthday block swap on quilting.about.com, so we got the only things I could remember -- three ocean colors for Joy's New York Beauties, and some three hot batiks for Margaret's. I'll need a couple more things, but several of the blocks should come at least mostly from stash. Whew!

Now, I've spent FAR too much time writing this post (and getting distracted by other things while doing it!). I'm about dead on my feet, and tomorrow's a "field trip" day at work, so I need to get myself organized for a decent bedtime ;)

Delayed (aka Friday the 13th)

My sister is coming for a visit this weekend... maybe ;) I always love those flight plans that require one to fly west in order to fly east (or vice versa)... she went from a small airport in Michigan to Milwaukee, where they canceled her flight to Newark Liberty. It's the airline's fault, so they tried to find her a spot on another carrier, but there weren't any. She's on her way (in a few minutes, I hope!) to LaGuardia instead, where the airline will provide some kind of ground transportation to Newark.

Call me chicken, but there's no way I'm driving to LaGuardia! That's multiple bridges, plus going across or around Manhattan. In the dark. Without a legal auto registration. Yes, I'd have Jill, but no, I'm not going. The car service or bus or whatever will have to sufflice.

For the record, before we know the airline would do the ground transportation thing, I did offer to take the train in and meet her somewhere so she didn't have to deal with public transportation alone at night with luggage. I'd say I'm happy I don't have to do that, except that Lisa will probably read this, and that wouldn't be very nice ;)

Summertime...

and every news station is giving the "official" definition of heat wave! (Three consecutive days -- or more -- with temps of 90* or higher.) The first one of the season starts tomorrow.

Today, on the other hand, was the official start of summer hours at my office. We work an extra four hours M-Th, then close at noon on Fridays for a jump-start on the weekend. I had big plans: go to the DMV for driver's license and car registration/plates. 90 minutes later, I left... with my new driver's license. No registration... since moving, I can't find the payoff letter from GMAC, and my title shows the lien. The DMV will accept a fax directly from GMAC, which is good, but I have to find the loan number in order to get it from them! I'm sensing another trip through my seriously unorganized "important papers" this weekend. On the flip side, I *did* find the title (which was MIA before I moved), so I didn't have to first go to the NYS DMV to get a duplicate.

Hope your day was somewhat more interesting!

How are you going to celebrate...

the International Year of the Potato? And how did it get to be June before I knew we were celebrating one of my favorite foods?!

First, let's think of all the delicious ways we can eat them: mashed, boiled, baked, fried, chips, mmmmm..... I can't decide my favorite!

So yes, my first thought was of love for the potato. But as I read the International Year of the Potato website, I started to have second thoughts. Peru (where the potato originated) basically lobbied the United Nations to "focus world attention on the importance of the potato in providing food security and alleviating poverty." [source] The effort was successful, and the UN resolution noted that potatoes can help meet such millennium development goals as eradicating poverty.

OK, that's good -- I'm all for fighting poverty and reducing child mortality. (Well, I'm good *other* than the potato lobbying efforts...)

But here's where I get confused. If the potato is being marketed as a substitute for grains and rice, highlighted now by the rising cost and shortage of rice, won't there eventually be a potato shortage? And isn't dependence on a single crop (rice, potatoes, wheat, corn, whatever) bad for us in general? A bad year or years could be devastating. What about the effects of:

• Drought -- remember "We Are The World," Ethiopia, 1984
  
• Disease -- as a pertinent example, I offer the Irish Potato Famine, Ireland, 1845-52
  
• Popularity -- like using corn to make bio-fuel in America, today (although I do kind of like the idea of these alternative fuels)
  

Wouldn't BALANCING our food dependencies make more sense? Use some corn, some potatoes, some rice, etc. so a bad year for one doesn't spell famine for thousands of people.

I dunno. I like potatoes better than rice, so I eat them more. That's only bad for my waistline. But I think buying influence on behalf of a country -- or a potato -- is wrong, and it's bad for the world and our food supply.

Rant over. I'm having mashed potatoes for supper tomorrow!

GPS enabled

Even though I didn't want to (out of spite, not need), I spent some of my stimulus check last week. I've got a really good map of my area--in some ways, it's almost too good, because that makes it somewhat complicated--but after I got lost so many times trying to get home at night, I decided I really needed a GPS. I debated about upgrading my cell phone to an "all-in-one" model, but wanted text-to-speech capability. I chose a Garmin nuvi 260, and she arrived today. Apparently, her name is Jill (she came that way). Best of all, the FedEx guy brought her two days before the estimated arrival date!

What's in a name?

I always knew my name was popular in the year I was born (I think there were at least five of us in my grade)... Turns out it was #5 that year, according to the Social Security Administration's baby name list. (Some neat searches on their site -- see how your name has grown or faded in popularity over time.) My sister has a pretty popular name too, although I didn't realize (until today) that it was #9 in her birth-year. I don't remember her having that many classmates with the same name, though. Were there, sister dear?

Even more fun: we know a few families who have daughters named Amy and Lisa.

(thanks to Vivian for the flashback.)

Updates...

Hmmm... At the continued urging of my co-workers (who are tired of hearing me cough), I went to an after-hours clinic on Friday. Diagnosis? Allergies. Duh ;) I knew going in there wasn't really anything anyone could do for me, unless there was an underlying issue that I was assuming was allergy-related but wasn't. Luckily -- and unluckily, I guess! -- I was right. I did get enough samples of my everyday allergy medicine to get me back to Rochester next weekend when I can get my Rx refilled. (My so-called "national network" insurance is, well, not.)

I did some work today on my little quilt for Kate's swap. It's slow going -- paper piecing 3" blocks is not for the faint of heart (or those in a hurry!). There's plenty of time to make this little darling; I was just surprised that it took 75 minutes to chain piece four blocks! I'd give you a sneak peek, but that would require me to know where the cord is for the camera! I've got half the blocks made now, and everything cut for the remaining ones, so maybe I'll be able to move a little more quickly. (I prefer to paper piece the Carol Doak way, where you trim firm, then stitch; it makes pre-cutting very easy and accurate, and wastes less fabric as a result.)

I also fused this month's block in our year-long Birthday Block Swap on quilting.about.com. It's not exactly as I imagined it, but it'll do. Miss April requested 9" blocks to make a village; mine's just a house, but it's kind of cute. (Doesn't your house have a brown and pink homespun plaid roof?!) Again with the camera cord... Now I have to figure out what kind of stitching it needs to keep it together. Not quite sure this one's going to make it in the mail by April 30, but I'll do my level best tomorrow!