It started with a text message...

    This has been one helluva roller coaster ride. Like it says in the title, it started with a text message, at 8 am on Monday, November 25th. My pregnant daughter texts me that she thinks her water has broken, and she's going to the hospital to get it checked out. She was right. There's no fooling around with this woman.


    She stayed in the hospital, and waited for labor to start. If it didn't start by 2 pm, the medical staff was going to induce it. The labor started on its own. I got my call to come to the hospital just after 1 pm. Her hubs had to run home and do a few things, and she didn't want to be alone.


    By the time he got back, she had been moved from the triage area into a room. She ended up giving birth in that room. The midwife was really great. And at 7:05 pm little Owen Francis Gilroy emerged from his mommy. I was there, and got to see the whole thing. It was so awesome, we were all crying.

 

 

 

     They came home yesterday, late in the day. Even though he was four weeks early, we are glad he came. He was 18 inches long and weighed in at 6 lbs. I can't even imagine how much he would have weighed if he hadn't come early.  One more thing to be thankful for.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

It's been a long day and I'm rambling

    When I woke up at 5:00 this morning, I started the coffee maker for Hubs, then went back in to go back to sleep. It didn't work out. I couldn't sleep. I lay there quietly until after Hubs left for work. I've discovered it's better to leave him alone in the mornings.


   Shortly after he left, I got up and drank the last cup of coffee that was left in the coffee maker. I sat here in my chair and vegged for a while. I was supposed to go to Sara's by 10, so I had time. I briefly considered going back in to lay down, but dismissed it. I figured I'd oversleep. I showered and headed to Sara's right on time.


    When I'm tired I get weepy. I cry at television commercials. I warned Sara that I was weepy before I went over there. There is just some stuff going on that I can't talk about. The stories aren't mine to tell. Friends got married, and most of it has to do with them. They have the cutest story I've ever heard. But I can't tell you guys about it. It's not my story. You can't make that shit up.


    So I sit here and think, and weep. I am currently weeping about a very good episode of Doctor Who. I wept last night, at the end of the 50th anniversary special, when Tom Baker appeared as a guest. So I guess it started then.


    Last night was one of those awful nights that take forever to be over with. Waking up every hour, and having trouble getting back to sleep. The whole night sucked, pretty much. No wonder I was already tired when I woke up at 5. Now I'll just wait until it's bedtime. It must be 11 pm somewhere.....

My Day All Alone

   I know, it's only 9:30 in the morning, but I thought I'd better do this while I have a chance. You see, it's also the Day of the Doctor... So I'll be busy watching Doctor Who, and making rubber band bracelets, hopefully to sell at the craft fair at FDR High School on December 7th. Come one, come all.


    Hubs got off to work successfully this morning, but I bet he's not very happy. You see, he forgot his bag of fireballs he bought yesterday. He has become addicted to those little cinnamon flavored devils. After searching all venues in the area, we discovered that Adams Fairacre Farms is the only local source for these candies.

  
    But now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish my coffee, pour myself another cup, and enjoy the Day of the Doctor. I might just get in some knitting and possibly wash some dishes and run the carpet sweeper around during the dull bits. 

   P.S I did some thinking after yesterday's post, and realized I was wrong. Hubs has been home nearly three weeks, not two. And I am thoroughly enjoying my day alone, so far. I'm sure I'll miss him later...


P.P.S.  My very favorite Doctor Who episodes of all time are BLINK, with #10, David Tennant, and Vincent and the Doctor, with #11, Matt Smith. It makes me cry every darn time I see it.

The last day

   Here I sit, still waiting for my coffee to finish brewing. As I wait, I harvest my crops on my farms, and it suddenly occurs to me that today is the last day that Hubs will be home with me! At long last, he goes back to work tomorrow.


   At first it makes me very happy, because we've been getting on each others nerves on occasion. But it makes me sad too, because I believe I was starting to get used to him being here almost all the time. It seems a lot longer than two weeks.


    When he went to the Dr. for his post-op visit, the Dr. took his stitches out and Hubs knew to ask if he could ride his motorcycle. If he didn't ask, I would give him a really hard time about it. The Dr. said yes, and I believe it was the next day that it was really warm, so he went for a ride. His hand didn't hurt at all.


    Don't get me wrong, I am really looking forward to tomorrow, and having some time to myself. What makes it even sweeter? Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of Dr. Who, and there are going to be special things going on all day; heck, they've been showing episodes all week on BBCA! I can't wait for the new episode that's going to air tomorrow afternoon. And Hubs won't be here to have to watch it.


    Look for my post tomorrow, I will share how my alone time is going!

   

Stitch n Bitch report and more

    This week's Stitch n Bitch went off without a hitch! Everyone showed up, and we had a nice breakfast and got some crafting done. I'm still working on the Elizabeth Zimmermann garter stitch baby blanket, and it's almost half done. It's so cold in my house, it's hard to knit. My hands are so cold. At least my feet stay warm, in my nice wool felted slippers made for me by my best knitting friend, Kim! It pains me to say this, but I'm rearing holes in them already! And this is my second pair!


    Now for the other news. Here is the most recent baby bump photo of my lovely daughter Sara!

    I can't wait for this baby to get here! It's getting closer every day! It certainly looks like he's gonna be a big boy. Already nearly 5 lbs with a month to go.

New bracelets!

     Last time I posted I made a really hard bracelet, this time I made an easy one. It's called the inverted fishtail. Here is the beginning:

    I like it because it's flatter than the regular fishtail. Here it is just before I took it off the loom:

    And here's a photo of it on my wrist, next to an original fishtail. The original one is kind of square, I like the new one better.

    Just so you know, I did knit quite a bit yesterday. I got probably six rows done. I will knit more tonight or tomorrow, I promise... This baby's arrival is getting closer and closer, this blanket feels like it will never get done!

Recent happenings, crafting and otherwise

    I have been otherwise occupied the past days, I'm afraid. With Hubs still in recuperation mode from his surgery, him being home every day and both of us wanting to kill each other at this point, I'm fighting a never ending battle to stop him from doing foolish, possibly dangerous and definitely not doctor approved things, like work on his truck and ride his motorcycle. At least I got him to wear the hand brace for a solid week. After that he would only wear it at night. I'll take what victories I can get at this point. It's only a couple more days until he sees the doctor and gets his stitches out.


   As well as those battles, we had happy things too. Good friends of ours got married, and we got to celebrate with them last night. We had possibly the best dinner ever at Billy Bob's BBQ, owned by our friend Bill's family, whose son Bob is the chef. We have never eaten there and been disappointed. Highly recommended! We love to support our former co-workers in their successful ventures where we can!


    I have not had much time to knit, but I have been playing with the Rainbow Loom. After watching some more videos on youtube, I attempted the most difficult bracelet I have seen yet. It requires two looms, which I have, and tons of patience and dexterity. I have the patience, and it seems the dexterity too. I was successful making the bracelet! I figured that if a "stupid boy" could make the video, I would be able to handle making the bracelet!
   

  
    It's very tricky, as when you finish one loomful of bands, you have to take it off, load the loom again, and out it back on to continue. My bracelet took 2 1/2 sections to make. If I were to make one for Hubs, it would be at least 3 sections.


   My knitting self came out, as I used a stitch holder to hold the partially done bracelet while I loaded the loom back up with rubber bands. My bracelet isn't perfect, as the last black part got twisted when I put it back on the loom. But you can't really see where that is. I also messed up the color sequence on the last section. But again, you don't see it until I point it out.


    And I'm still waiting, impatiently, for this new grandbaby to come. I don't know how that will affect my blogging, I hope I will still have time! I will be babysitting two days a week after Sara goes back to work. It goes without saying, of course, that I'll be there as much as she needs me before that!

Another non-knitting post...

    This morning, as I was driving a friend's mom to work, I saw something I thought was unusual. There are several farms between here and there, complete with sheep. I'm used to seeing the sheep cavorting around.


    This morning, however, I was highly amused to see the sheep on one of the farms huddled, heads down, around those big rolled up hay bales. There were two sheep on each side of each bale. It was quite a sight to see the field spotted with bales of hay, each with eight sheep huddled head first into it. It made my morning.


    Also this morning, on the ride up, I mentioned that I had noticed that radio stations never tell you the time anymore! I remember when I was a kid, the DJ's were constantly telling you what time it was. Those of you who have seen Howard Stern's movie might remember that part. Melanie (the mom) and I decided that they probably figured most people have digital clocks both in the car, and on their phones, so they don't need to be told the time by the radio.


    Then on my ride back, I was listening to a local radio station, and the DJ told me the time! TWICE in less than half an hour! I made a mental note to mention it in my blog, and here it is. I figured I'd better get it down now before I forgot.

   It's only 7:30 in the morning! What else does this day have in store for me??
   

    P.S. Thinking about the Howard Stern movie, it wasn't the time he was pressured to tell constantly, it was the stations call letters. But perhaps you remember the time thing. I know I do.

Another Craft Confession

    I have strayed, my friends, from the goodness of the yarn. I have been making those silly little rubber band bracelets. There is a story here, too.


   I had seen the loom things at Michaels Craft stores, and thought the asking price was too high. So I didn't get one. Then last week, after surgery, Hubs and I were in one of the chain drug stores, where they have a lot of the "As seen on TV" stuff. There amongst the junk was a rubber band loom! It wasn't the same as the one from the craft store, but it was about 40% cheaper. So Hubs bought one for me. I think he was probably under the influence of post surgical pain killers...


    We brought it home, and I began playing with it. As part of my learning experience, I went online and watched some how-to videos, produced by the craft store. I managed to make several kinds of bracelets, but it was difficult. In the videos, they were using the more expensive loom, and I could see how it was better than the cheapo one I had bought. I decided I needed not one, but two of those looms.


   I wanted two because the fancier bracelets looks silly with the design part only covering the top part of your wrist, and the rest was just a chain of single rubber bands around the back. I wanted the design to go all the way around my wrist.


    So the other day, when I was out running errands with my beautifully pregnant daughter Sara, we stopped at Michaels and I bought the two looms. That evening, I connected them together and started following the directions for the one bracelet I had already made.

    It turned out perfectly, and wrapped all the way around my wrist. I was very pleased. It's the one on the left in the photo. I just got finished with the other one, when I took the photo. That one gave me a lot of trouble. But in the end I figgered it out.


    My Hubs thinks I am ridiculous for blogging about this. It is crafting, after all, even if it was meant for kids, it's still fun.

A visit with Mom

    Yesterday, I drove down to Fishkill to spend some time with my mom. It was long overdue. I hate to say it, but the price of gas is what really keeps me close to home.


    On the way down, I decided to drive through the village of Wappingers, I haven't driven through there in quite a long time. It looks pretty much the same, except for a few obvious changes. The biggest of course, is the hole left in the row of really old buildings on the main drag, due to the collapse of one of the buildings. I remember hearing about it when it happened. This was the first time I'd seen it.


    I drove past St. Mary's, remembering the times I went to mass there as a kid, with my friend Patty and her family. It was also the place where my best friend Beth got married. Ah, the memories.


    There was Rosemary's Flower Shop, where my parents took little Sara to get her portrait painted. I remember how much she hated the lights shining in her eyes. The artist took photos because she was so young, and worked from those. My mom still has that portrait. I believe it's hanging over her bed.


    I realize I need to really make an effort to see her more. She just had her 81st birthday, and even though she is in excellent health, you just never know. We got to visit for quite a few hours, we talked and talked. As we talked, I got my knitting out and worked on the Elizabeth Zimmermann garter stitch blanket. I'm not halfway done yet. It really is taking forever. Maybe by the time the baby goes off to college...

It's been a busy week!

      This has been one very busy week. Between medical tests, Dr. visits, same-day surgery, and attending sonogram of newest grandbaby, it's been just a total whirlwind. The test and Dr. visits were for me, I still have another appointment tomorrow to go over the results of the test.


    My Hubs had the surgery this morning, to try and repair damage from carpal tunnel in his right wrist. After the procedure, the doctor came and spoke to me, he told he there was a lot to clean up, and he was able to get a squished nerve back in it's rightful place. Hubs should see a dramatic improvement. That was a relief.


    And yesterday I was able to go see my newest grandbaby move around, and put this hand in his mouth. He is gonna be soooo cute!

    I did get some knitting done while waiting for Hubs, in the waiting room. I was surprised that the whole thing didn't take very long! We got there at 6:30, and were outta there by 9:30. Hubs had told me that the doctor had told him the procedure would only take about 20 minutes. That seems a but rushed to me, but I guess this guy has done a few of these procedures.

It's November??

    This morning I actually woke up and thought, Holy crap, it's November already! When I was downstairs doing some laundry, I took my camera with me, and stepped out the back door. These photos are of the view from there, around our pool. I realize that the leaves are past their peak, and some trees are even bare. But this time of year is one big reason we love living in upstate New York.