Thursday Trivia

Wow, where has this week gone?? We had another spring-like day today - it is amazing how energizing it is to have sun and warmth in the middle of winter. I was sitting on my patio yesterday afternoon, believe it or not, reading my book. I heard the mournful sound of the coon hound next door, which is not my favorite thing to hear when I'm trying to relax in my yard. I looked over my shoulder, because he sounded closer than usual. Lo and behold, I discovered that two boards had fallen from the fence and that hound dog had his nose sticking through the gap. It made me a bit nervous, thinking of the fact that dogs can squeeze through mighty small spaces if they are of a mind to. So I decided to head back inside - a short reprieve on the patio. DC fixed the fence tonight - thanks, Hon!

Added to the wonderful weather today, I had the day to myself. My sweet daughter, Kristen, has restructured her life to give me Tuesday and Thursday free. Now anyone who reads my posts knows that those little girls are the light of my life. But if you read between the lines, you also know that I'm pretty tired a lot of the time - it takes a lot of energy to keep up with them. And I don't believe in staying home all the time - getting them in and out of the car is a cardio/strength training workout all its own. So - thanks, my dear, for a chance to feel really retired a couple days a week. We'll see how it works out - she'll be burning some midnight oil to make this happen.

My laptop has been acting very weird the last few weeks. I'll be typing along (and I type quite fast) when all of a sudden, the word I'm typing will jump up into a new line and land in the middle of another sentence. Often I'm not even watching my screen, but just typing away and watching t.v. or the kids. Sometimes a whole paragraph will be highlighted and disappear in a flash, before I even have a chance to stop typing. It's been incredibly frustrating and a terrific waste of time. So I took it to the computer doctor yesterday. Imagine my aggravation when the guy called me back to tell me that they had "typed the alphabet 10 times and nothing happened." I'm afraid I wasn't really sweet - I was rather insulted that they would think I dragged the three kids and my computer in just for the fun of it. I went back in there today (by myself!), set it up, prepared to just show them the problem. Of course - it's like when you take your car in and it acts perfectly fine - NOTHING HAPPENED!

Since I got it home, it has done it a couple of times, but I am making a concerted effort to keep my hands off the mouse pad. I cannot figure out why all of a sudden this has happened, considering I've had this computer for over a year and it never did it until the last few weeks. Well, I just have to learn to type with my hands in the proper position, rather than resting on the computer. Life is full of challenges!

In case you're interested in another update - this time about my ganglion cyst. Remember the disgusting "before" photo?



I finally went to see my doctor for his advice. He decided to aspirate it - a simple procedure that works some of the time - it comes back quite often. Not to gross anybody out, but when he had deadened the area and inserted the needle, suddenly the syringe began filling up with blood rather than the goopy stuff that was supposed to be there. I think he was pretty stunned and a bit shook up. He was afraid he had hit a vein, but couldn't figure out how that could have happened - unless there was a vein over the bump instead of underneath it.

He held it tightly to stop the flow, then bandaged it snugly, and told me to come back in a week. I debated not going back, but decided to keep the appointment. He asked me if I would allow him to give it another shot (no pun intended!). He ascertained that there was no pulse on the top of the bulge, assuring him that the vein was not in a weird place. He inserted the needle into a different area and succeeded in getting alot of the "junk" this time. He felt so much better - so did I.

It was still bigger than I hoped. But as time has gone by, it has actually shrunk to this:




I really, really hope it doesn't come back!

I have to share some pictures - just can't resist. Emma and Katie had piggie tails in their hair when I picked them up last Friday. So adorable! As is the norm, Emma doesn't mind hats or things in her hair. Katie gets rid of them as soon as possible. Emma is quite the ham when the camera is around. By the time we got home from the library, the hair was not quite as cute as it was in the morning, but she was standing by my chair, just begging to be photographed. Indulge me, please!

Katie just kept playing with her toys. Eventually, she came over for a close-up.

Thanks for letting me share - and have a wonderful week-end!