About a Dog...

She-who-must-be-obeyed is sick.

Well, sort of. She has a mass on her back-end (near her pee-er, to be precise). She has had this growth for a while, but late last week (perhaps in response to all that chocolate??) the growth seemed to get larger, and was irritating her to no end. Keith took her to the vet to have it checked out. It is a mast celled tumor, and it must go. These tumors can cause a histamine surge, which can be dangerous. She is on anti-histamines and pepcid for her stomach (apparently histamines can cause ulcers, too) until she has surgery to remove it, which is scheduled for Wednesday.

I am upset, and worried about her. In response to my worry, I am spoiling her rotten, and she is eating it up. We will not know the prognosis until after the surgery, but will let you know when we know.

Christmas in Memphis

My second post in a week - a minor miracle, if I do say so myself!

I just wanted to show everyone our Christmas Tree this year - it is a departure from our normal tree, but we have always talked about getting one like this. I don't know if we will use it every year, but it has been fun this year!

Here are some of my favorite ornaments:

A Carndinal - the Virginia State (Commonwealth) Bird

A lovely little mushroom

These are a variety of other ornaments:

**But my all time favorite ornament, which must be on every tree** is:

The Hedgehog!

For those wondering, She-who-must-be-obeyed is doing fine in spite of her all-chocolate diet Saturday Evening. She was miserable Saturday night (in part because she spent the night in her box, rather than in bed with us), and was a little puney on Sunday, but by Monday, she was back to her old self.

Merry Christmas everyone!

When Good Dogs Go Bad...

We went out this evening to a welcome home party for David. We had a very nice time -- and then, courtesy of She-who-must-be-obeyed, we came home to this:

This was a gift I got at a Christmas Party, which was going to be re-gifted since we are trying not to eat this sort of thing. Believe it or not, she was up on the table when we came home. (Remind you of anything, Kim?)

This is where she knocked several items on the floor, and tore open the shrink-wrapped box of chocolates:

And here is a close up of the deed:

And all of that led to this:

Yep - this "good" girl has gone bad. I have spared you the gross details, but lets just say that the couch and 2 of our 3 living room chairs had to have some deep cleaning done. I think she ate her weight in chocolate (well, not really, but she did eat half the box!)

Well, beyond our excitement for the evening, life is moving along. Things at work have been going well, although I was "flexed" again this week. It was nice to have an extra day off, but I am sure I will be feeling it next week - when paychecks come out. On the upside, it appears that I will be moving to a new job at the hospital. I will give more detail once it is official, which should be sometime this next week.

This week is going to be busy (aren't they all??) We have our Christmas Program on Wednesday evening - which includes getting the church cleaned up, a soup supper and then the program. Much fun will be had by all. Sunday, after an early service, we will be having our Christmas Open House Brunch. After which, we will have a greening of the church service. So, needless to say, it will be a fun time of getting ready for it all.

In response to some of my previous posts, God has answered my (and many others') prayers in wonderful and awesome ways over the last week or so. It has been my privilege to be witness the goodness of God. Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!

Here we are again...

Here we are again...the end of another week. I have tomorrow off, not because I want it off, but because the company "flexed" the day. Meaning they give me the day off, and in exchange, they don't pay me. Bummer man. Just not a great time of year for this sort of thing.

This has been an interesting week. I can't really share details at this time, but I will someday. We'll see where these various roads take us, yes?

We are going to stay in town for Christmas. I am sorry we will not be able to be home for Christmas, but we should have a nice time here. Can't wait to get the tree up and get the place decorated. That will make the place cozy. I am looking forward to it.

Well, you can see I don't have much to say. I didn't want another week to go by without posting, so here it is...my crazy life - which is not so very crazy after all.

The beginning of Advent

Here it is Sunday evening again, and I can not believe we are at the beginning of another new week. It is also the beginning of Advent. Why does time move so swiftly? I just know that I will turn around and it will be Christmas Day - our third in Memphis. It seems impossible.

In the blur that was this week, I was able to complete the hat for the little one. I just hope I can get it to her before the flowers bloom in Charlottsville :). It's on it's way, J!

Saturday was spent doing a couple of fun things...Keith and I went with a friend to see "Into Great Silence", a documentary about the Carthusian monks in France. It was a very quiet, peaceful, and beautiful, albeit long, film. I recommend it highly, and hope to one day see it again.

After the film, I went to anothers friend's home and proceeded to help her spend mega-bucks getting supplies she needed (and some she just wanted:) ) for scrapbooking and making cards. We had fun shopping for them, and then unwrapping and playing with them when we got back to her house.

Things are going to get hectic and stressful - they always do. Our circumstances sometimes make it easy to become overwhelmed, worry about the future, fret over things we have no control over, and take things out on those we love. During this Advent Season, I hope that all of you can take some time out to reflect on the gift that God sent to us in his Son, Jesus Christ. I hope that you can take time to thank God for all that we have - and so much more than we need. I pray that you all have a blessed Advent!

I'm Back

I am so sorry that I have not posted in over a month. Where does the time go? I can't tell you where it went, or what I did with it. We were in the process of switching from Cable to other modes of TV and internet access. We are now the proud owners of satellite TV and a wireless modem. I was "off the bubble" during the transition, but now I am able to access the 'net from anywhere - no hotspot needed!

I have been working at the hospital for over a month now, and I really enjoy it there. It is a busy, fun, difficult, and interesting job. Just when I think people can not surprise me, yep, they do. I am still struggling with the events of this summer. I know, I know – it is a job, it did not define me. But I liked where I was and the larger picture of what I was doing. I still wonder what I am supposed to be doing. There is some talk of a couple of positions that may or may not materialize soon, or not so soon. I just am going to keep working here for a while and see what happens in the New Year. Please continue to pray – for God’s guidance, his provision for us, and my understanding / learning.

Mom and Dad came to visit for Thanksgiving. We had a great time, and enjoyed getting to spend time with them. We completed a puzzle – which I forgot to take a picture of before putting it away yesterday. Bummer. We got to eat some great food, go to church, and meet some of the folks that make living in Memphis worth it all. I was sad to see them leave. Sadder to not be going with them. I really miss Virginia, my family, watching the kids grow up, and seeing old friends. Ahh, well.

On to happier things…I have finished the following:

This is the cutest, easiest hat to make! I hope it looks as good on, as it does standing up on the dresser!

(for those who want to know, yes, there are 2 socks there. And they by-and-large match stripe for stripe!)

These are soon to be on heads and feet near you…well, near you if you live near Sumerduck. Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! Happy “Your-sister-is-having-a-birthday-so-you-should-get-something-too” Big Boy! I hope they both fit you. I have lots more sock yarn, if you want another pair! I miss you both – you need to write your aunt more often!

I have another hat on the needles now. I will be concentrating on it soon – This one is for a special little lady who is FINALLY home…sharing life for the first time with Mom and Dad alone. (I think there are dogs involved, but not sure). I will get it to you soon. I am sorry I missed the shower – I would have given anything to be there. It looks like you had a great time! I love you all!

Here are some fabrics that I have found in recent weeks:

My mom and I found some cool ones at Klassy Kats this weekend. Mom got them for me, so I better put them to good use soon. The three on the bottom are some that we got this weekend, and are among my very favorites. The piece on top I picked up simply because I fell in love with it. I don’t know what it will be, but whatever it is, it will be cool.

Here is a picture of Isabel with her “squinty” eye (pronounced “quinty-eyed”, if speaking Chihuahua.) It seems that she gets something in her eye, and she walks around with one or both eyes closed. Quite humorous. Apparently this is quite normal for Chi’s, and may actually be an allergy.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks, well, months. In spite of my own craziness, I have friends dealing with much more than I have been. I want them all to know that I think of, and pray for, them often. Call me if you need to. Anytime.

P.S. - For those wondering, Keith has now lost 60 lbs. and I have lost 40. I actually managed to get through Thanksgiving, with mashed potatoes, cake, and what-all and not gain any weight...a real feat, if you ask me. Probably a first in my life.

P.P.S - for my siblings: Guess what? Dad help me make tamales this weekend! They taste exactly like they did when we were kids (Wonderful!!) - and are great cold from the icebox! Thanks, Dad. I really enjoyed making them with you. Love you!

New Old Beginnings

I can't believe it has been three weeks since my last post. There have been changes since then, and my life is, once again, going to change.

Now, before anyone gets too very excited: no, we are not moving back to VA -- yet. I am still guessing it will be retirement before we will ever realize that dream. No, the change involves my employment. A week ago last Friday, I was looking around on the internet ('cuz it won't surf itself, as someone once told me), and found that, to my astonishment, my old job at the hospital was open. After a quick call to Keith, I called my old boss, and she offered me the position on the spot - with a raise from my previous salary. I spent last week getting the physical and I begin working there on Monday. The salary is not even in the same neighborhood as my work at the Navy base, and it is going to be difficult to adjust, but we will once again have health insurance, which we have been without since June 30.

I have said this more than once this summer, but I don't know where this road will lead, but I am going to enjoy the ride. I am excited about going back and working with my friends again, and hope that they are as excited about working with me. I am anxious to begin working again.

I am stil crafting. I have finished a hat for Jasmine (it's on the way, I put it in the mail on Saturday), and finished another hat, which, it turns out, is for a part-giant child. I had a head in mind for it, but apparently he will be 21 before he can wear it. So I got new yarn and began again. The socks now have heel flaps and the start of the heel turn, and I am hoping to finish them soon. (*I was thinking I would make three exactly alike, so if one is eaten by the washer, there is still a pair, but then, maybe not) These should show up on a pair of feet near you soon.

NOTICE *For members of the family and friends - I will take orders for the kiddos (socks, hats, scarves, or ponchos), but am not great at this yet, and can not promise delivery time...and I reserve the right to refuse!*

Here are a few pictures of Jasmine's hat:

We had a Blessing of the Animals service last weekend, and here is a great picture of "She who must be obeyed". She is unhappy to be toted around by our Sr. Warden, and is begging me to come get her!