random saturday

ok, i've dubbed this one random saturday.

first there's this. for those of you who watch good eats, and havent seen feasting on asphalt, you are missing a HUGE treat. apparently watching people eat on the road is a big deal this summer. there's paula dean's boys, and right now unwrapped is doing a "road trip" show. then there's food finds, and that one show that i can't recall, that ate around cities or themes. while paula's boys do a fine job, y'all need to step back. alton has it in the bag. i LOVE alton brown. granted, i wouldn't want to do like the misses lime & violet with their yarn (listen to their latest podcast. oh dear!), but his wit is fantastic, as well as his insight. it's been on once tonight, so it should be on again at midnight central time. go check it out!

Edit: Alton is acutally on right now, at 11 pm. no schmuck boy tonight.

then there's my crazy kid. Liam. have i ever told you how cool he can be? he was raised a head-banging baby, and to this day, hasn't gotten into that hiphop bitch ho slap around the bitch crap that alot of kids like. he flipped when he found out i'd bought him an ac/dc notebook for school. what he doesn't know about is the ac/dc sleep pants i found him for his birthday. yes, he's getting other stuff (god, i couldn't inflict just clothes on him, let's get real). he'll flip.

and he listens to mandatory metallica on Z92 (local station that plays classic metal & new stuff too. my only issue is their disgusting morning show. no music, just these two assholes who feel the need to denigrate any and every one they think will be funny. sigh) there's another station here in town 89.7 the River. they play a lot of alternative rock (ska, death metal, punk, indie, and on sunday mornings, Pacific Street Blues). they also play local bands (although they've only played mark's band, centerfuze, a few times, just not up their alley). and they also play older metal that doesn't get regular air play. they played "When It Comes To Me" by Metallica, which is an older song, in the good old days before they decided that they needed a bigger slice of the pie and lars decided to be a wimpy baby. (sorry, some bitter issues there). He'd never heard it before. He was in AWE. and the best part is this is one song where i can just belt it out, and sound absolutely amazing(i know, lorna, i should sing some wehre else other than my car or SoP). my normal range is second soprano (i can't break glass, i spose i'm a lot like sheena easton (shout out if you don't know who she is, and i'll see if i can find some links)). it helps to know the song, lol. now, i know, there were a few people at SoP a couple of weeks ago that feeled slightly betrayed with the "regularization" of groups like ac/dc and metallica, but i say more power to them. if it causes them to tour again, i'll pay the money, and take my son! hey, i took steph to Red, White & Rock (spondered by 93.3 the Dam, before they became a shit kicker station (at least they play classic country!)) three years ago, and Linkin Park not long after that. Liam wanted to go see Rob Zombie when he was here, but the opener (i can't place it right now ) was notorious for graphic lyrics, so that was a no go. Hell, Staind is back out, and playing next weekend. God, i wish i could go! anyway, this is a knitting blog, right?

Jennifer had her baby yesterday morning. the one day she came to work (on friday after the shower) i had left the damned thing at home. so i' going to wait a few days to let baby & momma settle, then i'll call her & find out wehre she lives, and deliver the sweater.

for charity, i've just stuck to making sqares at work. it's easier that way, i don't have to think.

I've started making my felted purses again, and i'm disgusted with the first one. it ended up short & wide, which is fine. the big problem is that the edge rippled on me. i'm using a really big book wrapped in press & seal wrap (it's a hard cover, those survive that stuff well), and have it blocking in my dish drainer. we eat at mark's mostly, so there are few dishes here. the flap turned out relatively well, although it did cup a bit. i wanted a pointed flap that wasn't too deep, so did an extra decrease in the middle. it's doable. just that damned ripple maybe i can fold that bit in & stitch the lining to it. i'm almost done with an all red one, and will wash it probably monday or tuesday.

however, tonight, i don't even WANT to look at needles & wool. it was 99 again today, and since it stormed over night, and we got a brief shower around 11, the humidity is through the roof.

today was tax day in iowa (no sales tax on clothing & shoes, up to $100 per item) so i took sean & my mom to walmart in Council Bluffs. we had to wait til afternoon, because i had a last minute doctor appointment (i'll explain) in the morning, and Sean's music lesson was at noon. first off, we had to park in the north 40. if i had been thinking, i would have dropped sean & my mom @ the door, and just made myself walk, but iw as being blonde, sigh. i was already starting to overheat. we were there for 2 frigging hours. fifteen minutes of that was spent looking for sean. it wans't really his fault. he's got a cold, and has been eternally thirsty, so asked if he could go hunt for a drinking fountain. i told him i'd stay in the men's department (liam's into everything men's except t-shirts). after waiting 10 minutes, i got concerned. i went to the restroom, looking for him the entire way, and no sean. sigh. so i had him paged twice, while waiting by the restrooms. no luck. so i described him to the cashier (she was manning the self checkouts, so she woulnd't be too distracted, and told her to nab him & page me. he'd know my name, lol. i thought i heard my name, and rest room, so i checked again. no luck. went to the video games & the toys. no luck. finally, i hit up one of the ladies at the stands they have with red vests, and asked her to page him again. apparently, he heard it, he paged me again, to the fitting rooms. he did what i'd taught him! we had had issues with him wandering off while we were shopping, so i taught him to go to customer service (fitting rooms worked, too) and have me paged. YIPPEE! while i was upset about not finding him, and was about to call a code adam, the fact that he used his head, and thought about what to do, thrills me to death. maybe we're working closer to him coming home.

Liam wasn't with us, because he had chosen to pick a fight with sean over a lego's magazine, and then wanted to argue with me about it. they both had lost the priviledge of playing video games at walmart (an easy way to keep track of them, lol) because of the fight. liam kept trying to tell me that sean started it, and i told him that it takes two to fight, so they'd both get a consequence. he started to argue about that, and since i was already hot & cranky, i told him, fine you don't get to pick out your clothes, you can stay home. i can still get away with that, one, he's a boy, and two, he's almost 14. he doesn't totally doubt my taste in clothes, yet.

anyway, having learned my lesson about finding my mother in walmart (for those who don't know, she's deaf so i can't have her paged if she goes somewhere else other than where i'm expecting. the last time this happened, i had to call a code adam, and have them hunt her down. it took an hour to find her!), i had established a meeting point with her. sean had been very good, so i told him he could go pick out a toy, then meet me & grandma in the produce section (much easier to find than "the men's department, lol). i found her, told her to wait there for sean, and i'd go pay for my stuff. that took 20 minutes. then i found her & sean, debated about the price of the toy (he'd been told $5 or less, but since he'd been so good about getting himself found, i cut him a little slack), then took everyone to find another check out & checked my mother out. of course, i'd forgotten socks for liam & mark, so i grabbed some of those, quickly (thank god there was a rep in the sock aisle, i couldn't find mark's socks (he wears the super huge mega socks, he wears a size 14 shoe)), and we checked out my stuff & hers. then came the fun of finding the van. i think the battery is dying in my key fob, because i have to be really close to make it work, so i couldn't even hit the panic button to find it. fortunately, it was only 2 rows over, and just as far out as we had gone.

then there was the mad dash to the hall the reception is going to be. we left walmart at 4:40, and i was supposed to meet the lady there at 5. i made it, but just by the skin of my teeth!

now, to the doctor's appointment. no, I'M NOT PREGNANT! let's keep that straight. this baby factory is closed for business. however, i got my old summer favorite back. the city decided i needed to clean up my yard, which is mowed, at lest, unlike the neighbors down the street who have weeds all over their yard that stand as tall as 4 feet. i think they've mowed twice this summer. needless to say, i finally got the phone # i needed to call their asses in. sauce for the goose, don't ya know. so guess what happened. i got poison ivy AGAIN! that's it, i'm getting my doctor to recommend a dermatologist early next spring, and i'm getting desensitization shots. the big problem with poison ivy & me is this: i'm hyperallergic to it. while most people get a rashy spot from contact with the oils, unles they get more contact, it stays where the oil has gone. (by the way, the oils can stay active for DAYS after clothing has been changed. if someone has poison ivy, be very careful about doing their laundry.) not me. i get one spot, and my antibodies freak out, and i start to break out EVERYWHERE. i worked on my yard thursday, and was very careful not to touch anything if i could help it. (i used my clippers, and liam used gloves to transport the crap to the compost heap. does he have poison ivy? HELL NO. it started with a faintly itch y patch on my waist (yes, i was dressed, fucked if i know how it got there) yesterday afternoon. by last night, it was a very itchy patch, and i had to change my shorts to keep from rubbing it. this morning, it had spread to my left arm, my left jaw(yes, i have two, don't you? how else do you think i'm so chatty!), and my scalp. in my hair. and i have chronic itchy scalp on top of that. yes, i'm just thrilled! so i went to the doctor. the funny part is this: while i use a different doctor for most of my regular "maintenance" appointments, the last minute ones get to be who ever has an open slot. in the 2 years i've owned this house, i've had to go to the doctor THREE times for poison ivy. and this fill in doctor has had me every time. and he remembered, lol. so he asked me what i wanted to do. now, that is a comfortable physician. the usual steroid pill packs that they give most people don't work on me. i've tried before. this PI thing has been going on for 5 years. i got it 3 times in one year, and the pill pack worekd the first two times. the third time, they gave me two (the rash came back as soon as i stopped after the first one), and after the second one ws done, i immediately broke out again. that's when they brought in the big guns. prednisone. god, i hate that crap! it upsets my stomach (even with food) forever. that time, they started me with 60 mg for 3days, and then dropped it like the pill packs, every 3 days. i was so sick. so, when i got it the first time 2 years ago, here, they suggested a shot of steroids first, and then a smaller dose to start (50 mg for 3 days, which means being on them for 3 days less!), and it worked well. so it old the doctor this, and he said, ok, we'll do that. i LOVE that doctor's office. they are all no-nonsense, (i've seen 3 others besides my own doctor, plus the PA), and will listen to you. and my doctor actually had the "safe sex" discussion with liam last year, while i was in the room. i thought he was going to fall through the floor. too funny. and they all have senses of humor, too! i've had a few popous asses (the doctor i transferred to when i was pregnant with stephanie, & moved), and this office is refreshing. and the office staff is friendly, and sociable, whle still being professional. and they even ask after my mother! (since she started going to the hematologist for her monthly blood thinner checks (she had a heart valve replacement in '86)) she doens't get in there as often as she did).

anybody interested in wedding news? if not, too bad, i'm going on! WE MAY HAVE A MINISTER! sean's foster parents are heavily involved in their church (hes' a lay minister), so we asked them if they could recommend anyone. he couldn't find anyone. however, her mom lives up by us, and she asked her if she could think of anybody. her neighbor is a retired minister at a church that is just upt he street from mark's house! we talked to him, and he wants to meet in the next few days, but it's looking good!

i got the last few addresses i needed (the west coast cousins were tough, i had to hunt them down via an older cousin that was a long distance call (and you know, they all want to chitchat because i havne't talked to them in a while (how's your mother, how's life, how old are the kids, i cna't believe they're so grown) and then i get to hear their news). i called my cousin shirley, who i always liked (she was different, if only because she was a thorazine baby, and has one arm that ends in two fingers at the elbow (i could relate to the differentness, even in my young days (most of my first cousins are 20 years or more older than i), just because mine wasn't a physical difference)), and she told me her older brother now lives in indonesia most of the year (comes back for holidays & tax time) (he won't be coming, lol), that her sister had divorced & sold her house, so she needed to call her aobut the addy, and that her daughter (2 years my junior) is getting married on the same day! too fucking funny! (in case y'all havne't noticed, i've not stated my wedding date here, because i know a certain personage reads my blog, and i really don't think he needs to know this information. if you wanna know, and i know who you are, email me. i'll tell ya). so the west coast cousins won't be coming. oh well. however, shirley is a traveler (rv& bikes) and may be through this way some time next spring. i've told her that now i have all these addresses, i might just organize a get together, so we can all see each other again. some of them i havent' seen since the last time she was here with her husband, daugher, and grandson, and that was well before daddy died.

tuxes have been measured for.
caterer has been met, & seen the hall (the outside, at least, she's suitably impressed.)
more floral tape was bought today, and i'll be starting flowers, soon.
and erin is contemplating throwing a shower for me @ SoP. a yarn shower! I LOVE IT! no bachlorette for me, i'm not interested. mark's not having a bachelor party either.


ok, i can't think of anything else, and i feel that my computer may take a dump on me, so i better hit publish post, and skeedaddle.

ONE MORE EDIT: I just saw a commerical for a new body wash by Softsoap. It has protien extracts from CASHMERE. is that possible? they'd definitely have a market with fiberistas!

TTFN!